The story begins with the arrival of two new doctors, Hawkeye and Duke, at the M*A*S*H 4077th, and, as one might not guess from the way things went in the TV series, ends with their departure from Korea and return to the States. Hawkeye is from Maine, while Duke is from Georgia, but they both suffer from a bit of contempt for the regular Army and its officers, aside from the CO of the "double natural", Col. Henry Blake, who is probably the only commander in Korea who could put up with the trouble this duo causes, even before the arrival of their partner in crime, Trapper John.
The saving grace of this trio, if they have one, is their utter devotion to saving the lives of the young men who are sent to their surgical unit with horrendous injuries. They also, at heart, seem to be truly decent human beings, as evidenced by their campaign to raise money to send their Korean houseboy, Ho Jon, to the U.S. so he can attend college, and by some pro bono surgeries for non-war wounds. They drink, gamble and womanize in their spare time, which is not greatly appreciated by their arch enemies, Frank Burns and Hot Lips Houlihan.
You can probably still find copies of this novel at the antiquarian booksellers or possibly even your local library, just for a cool read in the dog days of summer. The book is missing most of the political commentary on war itself that we saw in the last few years of the TV series, which is refreshing.
2 comments:
It always amused Dad that many of the "zany" incidents Hawkeye did were based on my Uncle Bill Wilson. He was a dentist, but ended up doing surgery along with the others.
When he came back from Korea, he was given a Silver Star for "Morale in a MASH unit" by the grateful "Colonel Blake" of reality.
It's not surprising at all that Hawkeye's exploits would be based on a real person or persons, since Hooker was a doctor in a MASH unit, and saw it all.
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