Cotton Hill

Cotton Hill
King of the Hill character
Hank Hill (left), former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (middle), and Cotton Hill (right).
First appearance	"Pilot," Shins of the Father
Last appearance	"Serves Me Right For Giving General George S. Patton The Bathroom Key"
Created by	Mike Judge
Portrayed by	Toby Huss
Information
Nickname(s)	Ging Ging (by Bobby Hill) The Colonel (by Dale Gribble)
Gender	Male
Occupation	War Veteran, Temporary Military School Commandant, Bathroom Attendant, Asbestos distributor, None
Relatives	Junichiro (First Son) Hank Hill (Second Son) G.H. (Third Son) Bobby Hill (Grandson) Didi Hill (Widow)
Religion	United Methodist
Nationality	American
Cause of death	Death by infection to his esophagus due to a fatal allergy to shellfish

Cotton Lyndal Hill (September 1, 1923 – November 11, 2007) is a fictional character in the animated series King of the Hill voiced by Toby Huss. He is the father of Hank Hill, Good Hank Hill (or "G.H."), Junichiro (his illegitimate half-Japanese son), and, according to him, 270 possible others. He is also a World War II veteran, who had his shins "blowed off by a Japanman's machine gun" in combat and later had his feet attached to his knees. This made him a foot shorter than his relatives and caused a characteristic waddle. According to Hank, Cotton was 6' 4" (1.93 m) with his shins and was 5' 0" (1.524 m) without them. Despite his disability, he eventually reached the rank of Colonel in the Texas State Defense Forces and was addressed as such by his friends. Cotton Hill died in the 12th season of King of the Hill at age 84.

Cotton was zealously proud of his military service record and his status as a war hero, although he tended to exaggerate his exploits. He often claims to anyone who will listen that he killed "fitty [50] men" during the war. He consistently reminded everyone within earshot about how he lost his shins during World War II:

He referred to the Japanese as "Tojos," a slur not unlike Jap and deriving from war-time Japanese Prime Minister and General Hideki Tojo. He would also refer to the Nazis as "Nazzys."

If Cotton's story is to be believed, he was born around 1927, making him about 70 in the first season of the show. In a third-season episode Hank says Cotton is 74, and in the Season 4 episode "Cotton Comes Marching Home", he states himself to be 75. He also claimed to have fought battles in both Munich and Okinawa within days of each other, but later admitted to not fighting in Munich.

Based upon Cotton's uniform in the episode "Returning Japanese", he was awarded the following military decorations: Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, and American Campaign Medal. Cotton left Japan wearing the rank of Private in his own flashback while reminiscing to Hank how he had met Michiko. He was referred to as a colonel repeatedly during the series, reflecting his rank in the Texas State Guard after the war. In the episode "When Cotton Comes Marching Home", his Silver Star is displayed in a case at the VFW. In the 12th episode of season 11, he is wearing the third class of the Legion of Honor, the highest award given by the French government, who gave it to a select handful of American troops for their service in World War II.