Hawkey meets up with an old friend who is a writer, working near the front. They joke around about their shenanigans as young men. He is writing a book about what it is like to be in combat with the detail that a young soldier who had been shot said he never heard the bullet. There is a subplot that Frank Burns has applied for a purple heart because while on a tryst with Hot Lips, his back went out and he is thrown on the ground in front of her tent to avoid embarrassment. He sees this as "injured in a war zone." There is also a fight between two injured guys in post-op over a stolen salami. Back to the real story, a young guy named Wendel (played by Ronnie Howard) who has lied to get into the Marines (he is only 16). He confesses that his only reason for being there is to get a medal and show up a girlfriend that jilted him. Things heat up when Hawkeye's friend is brought in in critical condition. This is one of those memorable episodes with a quote that is always brings the horrors of war into focus.
7 Reviews
The episode that put MASH on the map
jrm-5260911 February 2022
Captain Pierce's Reality Call!!
ellisel7 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Captain Pierce received a visit from Tommy Gillis in the beginning part of "Sometimes You Hear The Bullet." He visited Captain Pierce and Captain McIntyre in "The Swamp" in reference to his book he wrote as a correspondent. The actual title in his book was "You Never Hear The Bullet" in conversation. Tommy Gillis had a drink in their tent. He also told them about their past associations with one another in their school days. Captain Pierce had told Captain Gillis that he had a foolproof way to be the military draft ... or so it seemed at the onset of the Korean War. Little did Captain Pierce and Captain McIntyre knew that they were called for surgery; moreover, they would actually see Tommy Gillis alive for the last time.
In the second part of the episode, they were in surgery operating on a young kid on the table. Gradually, they found out the unknown soldier was actually a kid named Wendell Peterson. He entered the Army -- using a phony birth certificate. He told Captain Pierce that entered the service to show off his girlfriend back home. The oddity: he gave Captain Pierce two different ages just to enter the Army. He had done so after he had attempted to hot-wire a jeep to kill more Chinese soldiers in battle. After some talk, Captain Pierce had his word on not letting Wendell Peterson be turned over to the Military Police after recovering from his wounds in surgery ... or so it would seem to him.
Captain Pierce would face reality when his buddy arrived on the operating table in surgery. Tommy Gillis would eventually die on the operating table when a bullet hit his aorta. He became unconscious and later die after a brief stint in surgery. Captain Pierce and Lieutenant Colonel Blake would have a discussion about the rules of a war. Rule #1: Young soldiers die -- Rule #2: Doctors could not change Rule #1. Captain Pierce would realize that Wendell Peterson would be turned over to the Military Police and be sent home to his parents; moreover, he would realize that Captain Pierce would not be a pushover to Wendell Peterson's shenanigans. A Brilliant 10!! Recommended For Viewing!!
In the second part of the episode, they were in surgery operating on a young kid on the table. Gradually, they found out the unknown soldier was actually a kid named Wendell Peterson. He entered the Army -- using a phony birth certificate. He told Captain Pierce that entered the service to show off his girlfriend back home. The oddity: he gave Captain Pierce two different ages just to enter the Army. He had done so after he had attempted to hot-wire a jeep to kill more Chinese soldiers in battle. After some talk, Captain Pierce had his word on not letting Wendell Peterson be turned over to the Military Police after recovering from his wounds in surgery ... or so it would seem to him.
Captain Pierce would face reality when his buddy arrived on the operating table in surgery. Tommy Gillis would eventually die on the operating table when a bullet hit his aorta. He became unconscious and later die after a brief stint in surgery. Captain Pierce and Lieutenant Colonel Blake would have a discussion about the rules of a war. Rule #1: Young soldiers die -- Rule #2: Doctors could not change Rule #1. Captain Pierce would realize that Wendell Peterson would be turned over to the Military Police and be sent home to his parents; moreover, he would realize that Captain Pierce would not be a pushover to Wendell Peterson's shenanigans. A Brilliant 10!! Recommended For Viewing!!
The moment M*A*S*H became M*A*S*H
dominik-8171727 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is the episode I would credit with first having M*A*S*Hs signature blend of comedy and drama. The A Plot is more serious, though again, like in Yankee Doodle Doctor, only towards the end of the episode.
I feel like not a lot of people talk about McLean Stevenson in this episode, because he is brilliant. The speech he gives Hawkeye still gives me goosebumps to this day. A lot of people don't really agree with me, but in my opinion, Henry is one of the best characters in the show. I love this man.
And seeing Hawkeye lose his friend on the operating table Was gutwrenching, even when I first saw that scene without watching any other scene of the episode or even the show, because that was the first thing I saw of M*A*S*H. And this episode is probably a better first impression than the pilot itself, so good thing this was the first M*A*S*H episode I watched.
I feel like not a lot of people talk about McLean Stevenson in this episode, because he is brilliant. The speech he gives Hawkeye still gives me goosebumps to this day. A lot of people don't really agree with me, but in my opinion, Henry is one of the best characters in the show. I love this man.
And seeing Hawkeye lose his friend on the operating table Was gutwrenching, even when I first saw that scene without watching any other scene of the episode or even the show, because that was the first thing I saw of M*A*S*H. And this episode is probably a better first impression than the pilot itself, so good thing this was the first M*A*S*H episode I watched.
Very serious
safenoe9 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Ron Howard, who later became famous in Happy Days one year later and who became a very famous director and whose daughter became an actor, appears as an under-age Marine. Gwen Farrell plays a nurse, and I would love for the hosts of the M*A*S*H Matters podcast, superfan Ryan Patrick and Jeff Maxwell, to bring on Gwen as a guest as I would love to more about what it was like to be part of the first series of such a fine series. Anyway, I've seen I think every episode of M*A*S*H at least once, and I'm enjoying listening to Ryan and Jeff's reflections on such a fine series, and I would also love for them to interview Ron Howard if he has the time.
Opie Cunningham
ramblingvagabond3 November 2020
The one where Hawkeye loses a friend
jarrodmcdonald-119 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is an effective episode that mixes dark themes with the usual light doses of humor. Of course, the writers want Hawkeye to be a doctor who helps ensure that some men cannot return to battle, an idea that was also present in the previous episode.
It all starts with Frank pulling out his back during a tryst with Margaret. While recovering in post-op, he puts in for a Purple Heart. Meanwhile, a soldier named Tommy Gillis (James T. Callahan) comes into the ward and it is revealed he's an old pal of Hawkeye's. Though Hawkeye was originally said to be from Vermont, dialogue in this episode reveals that he's from southern Maine and that is where he went to school with Tommy.
Tommy is writing a book about experiences in battle, not as a war correspondent but as someone who is fighting on the front lines alongside the others. There is some gay humor with Tommy kissing Henry on the lips, and with him later wanting a kiss from Hawkeye after he returns to the camp as a wounded man.
Meanwhile an underage Marine (Ron Howard, billed as Ronny Howard) has been brought into surgery for an emergency appendectomy. The kid says he's 18, which was Howard's real-life age at the time of filming. But he's really 15 and lied about how old he was in order to enlist and impress a girl back home.
Hawkeye suspects the Marine's actual age and eventually turns him in, so that he will be sent back home and spared dying in battle. Of course, for all Hawkeye knows, the kid might not ever be wounded or die in action. As if that were not enough, Hawkeye steals Frank's Purple Heart and gives it to the Marine.
While this subplot is playing out, Hawkeye's buddy Tommy returns having been shot in a skirmish with the North Koreans. Tommy doesn't survive surgery, and Hawkeye must deal with the reality of his friend's lifeless body on the operating table. Alan Alda gives a thoughtful performance here, and McLean Stevenson provides good support in the more dramatic moments. The anti-war message of the script is heavy handed but nonetheless effective at manipulating the viewer's emotions.
It all starts with Frank pulling out his back during a tryst with Margaret. While recovering in post-op, he puts in for a Purple Heart. Meanwhile, a soldier named Tommy Gillis (James T. Callahan) comes into the ward and it is revealed he's an old pal of Hawkeye's. Though Hawkeye was originally said to be from Vermont, dialogue in this episode reveals that he's from southern Maine and that is where he went to school with Tommy.
Tommy is writing a book about experiences in battle, not as a war correspondent but as someone who is fighting on the front lines alongside the others. There is some gay humor with Tommy kissing Henry on the lips, and with him later wanting a kiss from Hawkeye after he returns to the camp as a wounded man.
Meanwhile an underage Marine (Ron Howard, billed as Ronny Howard) has been brought into surgery for an emergency appendectomy. The kid says he's 18, which was Howard's real-life age at the time of filming. But he's really 15 and lied about how old he was in order to enlist and impress a girl back home.
Hawkeye suspects the Marine's actual age and eventually turns him in, so that he will be sent back home and spared dying in battle. Of course, for all Hawkeye knows, the kid might not ever be wounded or die in action. As if that were not enough, Hawkeye steals Frank's Purple Heart and gives it to the Marine.
While this subplot is playing out, Hawkeye's buddy Tommy returns having been shot in a skirmish with the North Koreans. Tommy doesn't survive surgery, and Hawkeye must deal with the reality of his friend's lifeless body on the operating table. Alan Alda gives a thoughtful performance here, and McLean Stevenson provides good support in the more dramatic moments. The anti-war message of the script is heavy handed but nonetheless effective at manipulating the viewer's emotions.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
