Editing Mel Brooks (section)

===1944–1946: World War II service===
In early 1944, in his senior year in high school, Brooks was recruited to take the [[Army General Classification Test]], a [[Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales|Stanford–Binet]]-type [[Intelligence quotient|IQ test]].<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks">{{cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=Mel |title=When Mel Brooks Learned Not to 'Shortcut' the Jam |url=https://www.historynet.com/mel-brooks-goes-to-war/ |website=[[HistoryNet]] |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=April 28, 2022}}</ref> He made high scores and was sent to the [[Army Specialized Training Program]] at the [[Virginia Military Institute]] to be taught [[electrical engineering]], horse riding, and [[saber]] fighting.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/><ref name="defense.gov/2882521">{{cite web |last1=Vergun |first1=David |title=Actor, Comedian Mel Brooks Served in Army in World War II |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2882521/actor-comedian-mel-brooks-served-in-army-in-world-war-ii/ |website=[[U.S. Department of Defense]] |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name=ww2>{{cite book|title=All About Me!|publisher=Century|year=2021|pages=58–73|last=Brooks|first=Mel|author-link=Mel Brooks|isbn=978-1-529-13507-7}}</ref> In 1944, Brooks was drafted into the Army.<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/> Twelve weeks later, when he turned 18, he officially joined the [[United States Army]]<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> at the [[Fort Dix]],<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> [[New Jersey]], induction center, and was sent to the [[Field Artillery Replacement Training Center]] at [[Fort Sill, Oklahoma]] for [[basic training]] and radio operator training.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=90801438 |title=Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail|date=May 24, 2008|work=Weekend Edition Saturday|publisher=NPR|access-date=May 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/mel-brooks-spent-wwii-mines.html|title=One of the Funniest Men Alive, Mel Brooks Spent WWII Clearing Land Mines|last=Edwards|first=Jeff|date=December 24, 2015|website=War History Online|language=en|access-date=December 10, 2018}}</ref><ref name=ww2/> Brooks was then sent back to Fort Dix for overseas assignment.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> Brooks says he boarded {{SS|Sea Owl}} at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] around February 15, 1945.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> A reporter for the [[United States Department of Defense]] writes that Brooks arrived in France in November 1944, and later in Belgium, serving with the [[78th Infantry Division (United States)|78th&nbsp;Infantry Division]] as a [[Forward observers in the U.S. military|forward artillery observer]].<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/> In December 1944, a short while later, Brooks was transferred to the 1104th&nbsp;[[Engineer Combat Battalion]] as a [[combat engineer]], participating in the [[Battle of the Bulge]].<ref name=ww2/><ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Elhassan |first1=Khalid |title=Many Don't Know Mel Brooks was a WWII Warrior |url=https://historycollection.com/many-dont-know-mel-brooks-was-a-wwii-warrior/ |website=History Collection |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=July 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Brooks, Mel, Cpl |url=https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=BattleMemoryExt&ID=170814 |website=army.togetherweserved.com |access-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref> Of his experience there, Brooks noted:

<blockquote>Along the roadside, you'd see bodies wrapped up in mattress covers and stacked in a ditch, and those would be Americans, that could be me. I sang all the time ... I never wanted to think about it ... Death is the enemy of everyone, and even though you hate Nazis, death is more of an enemy than a German soldier.<ref name="Variety/Christon/Producers">{{cite news |last1=Christon |first1=Lawrence |title='Producers' pic gains stature as time goes by |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/%60Producers%27+pic+gains+stature+as+time+goes+by.-a078629386 |access-date=29 September 2022 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=September 10, 2001 |via=Free Online Library}}</ref></blockquote>

Stationed in [[Saarbrücken]] and [[Baumholder]], the battalion was responsible for clearing [[booby-trapped]] buildings and defusing land mines as the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] advanced into Nazi Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/photos/real-life-tough-guys-1374864278-slideshow/afi-life-achievement-award-a-tribute-to-mel-brooks-awards-presentation-photo-1374864255359.html|title=Real Life Tough Guys |last=Enk|first=Bryan |date=July 26, 2013 |publisher=[[Yahoo]]|access-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref><ref name=USACE>{{cite web|website=US Army Corps of Engineers |title=Historical Vignette 109 – Mel Brooks Was a Combat Engineer in World War II|url=https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/Sports-Entertainment/109-Mel-Brooks/ |access-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref><ref name=ww2/> Brooks was tasked with land mine location; defusing was done by a specialist.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> Brooks has stated that when he heard Germans singing over loudspeakers, he responded by singing American-Jewish singer [[Al Jolson]]'s hit "[[Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!)]]" into a [[bullhorn]].<ref name="Brooks-2021-Me=5MRLEAAAQBA">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Mel |title=All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business |date=2021 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-593-15911-8 |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MRLEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22All+About+Me%22+%22Mel+Brooks%22+%22Toot+Tootsie%22&pg=PA65 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="military.com/veteran-brooks">{{cite news |title=Famous Veterans: Mel Brooks |url=https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veterans-mel-brooks.html |access-date=September 26, 2022 |work=Military.com |date=November 1, 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Crow |first1=David |title=Mel Brooks and His WW2 Sing-Off with German Soldiers |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mel-brooks-ww2-sing-off-with-german-soldiers/ |website=Den of Geek |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=January 5, 2022}}</ref> Brooks spent time in the [[military prison|stockade]] after taking an anti-Semitic heckler's helmet off and smashing him in the head with his mess kit.<ref name="cbsnews/brooks-anti-semitism">{{cite news |title=Mel Brooks On Anti-Semitism |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mel-brooks-on-anti-semitism/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |work=[[CBS News]] |date=April 12, 2001}}</ref> His unit constructed the first [[Bailey bridge]] over the [[Roer River]],<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> later building bridges over the [[Rhine river]].<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/> In April 1945, Brooks's unit conducted its last reconnaissance missions in the [[Harz mountains]], Germany.<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/>

With the [[End of World War II in Europe|end of the war in Europe]], Brooks joined the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]] as a comic touring Army bases and he was made acting [[Corporal (United States)|corporal]], put in charge of entertainment at [[Wiesbaden]],<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/><ref name=ww2/> and performed at Fort Dix.<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy">{{cite news |last1=Darrach |first1=Brad |title=Mel Brooks: The Playboy Interview |url=http://www.thestacksreader.com/mel-brooks-the-playboy-interview/ |access-date=September 27, 2022 |work=The Stacks Reader |agency=Playboy |date=February 1975 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231095812/http://www.thestacksreader.com/mel-brooks-the-playboy-interview/ |archive-date=December 31, 2021}}</ref> In June 1946, Brooks was [[honorably discharged]] from the Army as a [[corporal]].<ref name=ww2/><ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/>