A Survey for Fans of M*A*S*H TV Series

Watched it a few times, then 'never again.'

Death is not humorous, dealing with death week after week required some mechanism to continue dealing with torn bodies day after day,
Hawk Eye and others used humor.

Again, death of young men is not funny.

Moreover, what the hell were we doing in Korea. We promoted ourselves to be the world's policemen:-our young men payed the bill.

Politically, it was a Vietnam, but we 'thought' our leaders knew what was needed-they didn't! We trusted our leaders, there were murmurs
of discontent, but flush with now being a superpower like blind pigs we followed without question.
 
jerry old said:
Watched it a few times, then 'never again.'

Death is not humorous, dealing with death week after week required some mechanism to continue dealing with torn bodies day after day,
Hawk Eye and others used humor.

Again, death of young men is not funny.

Moreover, what the hell were we doing in Korea. We promoted ourselves to be the world's policemen:-our young men payed the bill.

Politically, it was a Vietnam, but we 'thought' our leaders knew what was needed-they didn't! We trusted our leaders, there were murmurs
of discontent, but flush with now being a superpower like blind pigs we followed without question.
Click to expand...
At the risk of giving out personal info which I try never to do, I will share this with you.

My uncle was a true hero and they don't make people like this anymore.

He was a Navy midshipman in WWII.
After WWII the Navy sent him to medical school at one of the best universities in the U.S.
He became a heart surgeon. The Navy sent him to Korea as a surgeon.
After Korea he stayed in the Navy as a Surgeon and became known as one of the best heart surgeons in the country.
He was requested to be on the heart surgery team of two former presidents. He retired from the Navy and went into private practice.
About six years ago I visited him. he was 92 at the time.
He never talked about Korea and I never asked him, nor did I put two and two together.
So asked him...":when you were in Korea, were you in a MASH unit?"
He said yes. I then asked him if it was anything like the TV show MASH?
He replied that the show depicted the conditions of the Operating facilities very well and did their homework.
Then he added.. "except we had NO FUN. ZERO fun." No joking around.
He went on to describe cracking chests, stabilizing trauma, heart surgeries, repair, etc enough to get them evacuated out of the war zone. Sometimes operating for 30 hours straight through with out a break during offensives.
I exclaimed that "You were like Hawkeye Pierce"..
At that point he changed the subject.

Thought you all would like to know about a true American hero.

Thanks for reading.
 
jerry old said:
Watched it a few times, then 'never again.'

Death is not humorous, dealing with death week after week required some mechanism to continue dealing with torn bodies day after day,
Hawk Eye and others used humor.

Again, death of young men is not funny.

Moreover, what the hell were we doing in Korea. We promoted ourselves to be the world's policemen:-our young men payed the bill.

Politically, it was a Vietnam, but we 'thought' our leaders knew what was needed-they didn't! We trusted our leaders, there were murmurs
of discontent, but flush with now being a superpower like blind pigs we followed without question.
Click to expand...
If you were in the medical profession, you'd understand the need for a macabre sense of humor after awhile. Some levity eases the heartache we face daily. War is not amusing and I feel it is ultimately and exercise in futility when all is said and done. But we do our best to get through it in any way we know how and medical personnel find their own way, since life is so fragile.
 
Lewkat said:
If you were in the medical profession, you'd understand the need for a macabre sense of humor after awhile. Some levity eases the heartache we face daily. War is not amusing and I feel it is ultimately and exercise in futility when all is said and done. But we do our best to get through it in any way we know how and medical personnel find their own way, since life is so fragile.
Click to expand...
Same is true for the funeral business. We sold a product used for patient transportation that was also used in the funeral business. Those guys cracked me up. The need for humor is obvious. The need for humor helps offset the intense sadness of the brutality of life. Cultivate the ability to see the ridiculous and it helps the mind to cope. There need be no humor in heaven...lol.
 
I was stationed on Okinawa when that show was popular, and lived in a BOQ that was mostly Army plus the few of us who were Navy and a few Civil Servants and DOD School teachers. I was good friends with several nurses and doctors from the nearby Army Hospital. On the evenings that Mash was on, we all gathered in the room of one of the senior nurses who provided helmets which we put on while we sat on the floor, watched the show and drank more wine than we should have. It was always a lot of fun and was followed by dinner and dancing at the club across the street.

Army nurses certainly knew how to have fun, and most of them had come to Okinawa after a tour in Vietnam. They deserved all the fun they could find in my view.
 
One thing that always bugged me is when the doctors made apost-op visit to their patients and when they stood up to leave, they'd say "Get some rest." Now what would a person that just had major surgery do, get up and dance a jig?
 
jerry old said:
Watched it a few times, then 'never again.'

Death is not humorous, dealing with death week after week required some mechanism to continue dealing with torn bodies day after day,
Hawk Eye and others used humor.

Again, death of young men is not funny.

Moreover, what the hell were we doing in Korea. We promoted ourselves to be the world's policemen:-our young men payed the bill.

Politically, it was a Vietnam, but we 'thought' our leaders knew what was needed-they didn't! We trusted our leaders, there were murmurs
of discontent, but flush with now being a superpower like blind pigs we followed without question.
Click to expand...
I think we can all agree World War 2 was no joke.

Hogan’s Heroes and McHale’s Navy were pretty funny though.
I think there were a couple of others.

I don’t see MASH any differently. Just a different war. I don’t remember any jokes about death.

I like the original cast. Henry Blake was my favorite character.
 
J.B Books said:
At the risk of giving out personal info which I try never to do, I will share this with you.

My uncle was a true hero and they don't make people like this anymore.

He was a Navy midshipman in WWII.
After WWII the Navy sent him to medical school at one of the best universities in the U.S.
He became a heart surgeon. The Navy sent him to Korea as a surgeon.
After Korea he stayed in the Navy as a Surgeon and became known as one of the best heart surgeons in the country.
He was requested to be on the heart surgery team of two former presidents. He retired from the Navy and went into private practice.
About six years ago I visited him. he was 92 at the time.
He never talked about Korea and I never asked him, nor did I put two and two together.
So asked him...":when you were in Korea, were you in a MASH unit?"
He said yes. I then asked him if it was anything like the TV show MASH?
He replied that the show depicted the conditions of the Operating facilities very well and did their homework.
Then he added.. "except we had NO FUN. ZERO fun." No joking around.
He went on to describe cracking chests, stabilizing trauma, heart surgeries, repair, etc enough to get them evacuated out of the war zone. Sometimes operating for 30 hours straight through with out a break during offensives.
I exclaimed that "You were like Hawkeye Pierce"..
At that point he changed the subject.

Thought you all would like to know about a true American hero.

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing this history. And thanks to your uncle for his service!
 
"Jamie Farr and Alan Alda were the only two main cast members to have actually served in the U.S. Army in South Korea. Both of them did their tours of duty after the 1953 cease fire. Farr was drafted, serving in Japan at Camp Drake before eventually touring and performing throughout South Korea with friend Red Skelton."

link for quote above and also some other MASH trivia...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068098/trivia
 
Lewkat said:
If you were in the medical profession, you'd understand the need for a macabre sense of humor after awhile. Some levity eases the heartache we face daily. War is not amusing and I feel it is ultimately and exercise in futility when all is said and done. But we do our best to get through it in any way we know how and medical personnel find their own way, since life is so fragile.
Click to expand...
That's what I asked some of the older generation about when M*A*S*H was first on the air, and that's what they said.
Still makes for an odd theme for a sitcom, though, at least in my opinion.
 

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