I like how the General's aide stepped outside when Hawkeye told him the news that his son passed away. He knew that this did not involve him and wanted to respect the General's privacy in this matter, giving him time to grieve, no matter how short it was.

I watched mash so much as a child. I learnt so much about the adult world. What makes a leader from Col potter. Class and elitism from Winchester. Trauma and sanity from from the psychologist. Dependability from Radar. The power of women from Margaret. Self hatred from from Frank. That show was a hell of a father for a kid whose father left when he was 8.

After 40 years, this is still one of the most well written shows of all time.

This is the most brilliantly understated anti war acting Alan Alda ever did on the show. No sanctimony. No noise. No antics. Just deep, quiet sorrow and compassion for the entire situation. Anderson as the general is magnificent.

General George Patton noted that every commander has to send a certain number of men to their deaths every day. He said, "Some of them are his personal friends; all of them are his personal responsibility. Any man with a heart would like to sit down and bawl like a baby, but he can't, so he sticks out his jaw and swaggers and swears."

This is when MASH showed the reality of war. Hawkeye showing his humanity here. No wisecracks. Somber and respectful, as it should be when delivering news like this. John Robert Anderson, is a phenomenal actor in his own right. I really enjoyed his performance when he played Kevin Uxbridge on Star Trek the Next Generation.

John Anderson, great actor, iconic voice. RIP JOHN 🙏

I'm sure from Hawkeyes point of view, the father couldn't stop being a soldier long enough to grieve But from the father's point of view, there were men depending on him to stay in the game. He had to push it all aside and keep going or more of them might get killed

MASH is one of those special series that has aged better than most series. the second part of the series, after winchester, bj and potter came along brought some of the episodes that aged the best. regardless if you prefer blake mash or potter mash, the series has aged beautifully well, like a bottle of fine brandy

when i was younger i used to think hawkeye looked back in disgust like you just lost your kid and you go right back to it. as im much older now i like to think he looked back in pitty like you just lost your kid and you cant even take the time to grieve.

Ah, M*A*S*H, The Drama Years. It really is amazing how this show went from screwball comedy to dramady seamlessly. That's solid writing and acting.

This show is something that EVERYONE needs to see

A show I watched with my father. A Korean War veteran. A great show to share with those loved.

Any one who served in any war can relate to this show.I know the feeling .

You know when I was a kid watching this show. I didn't appreciate the reality that it was trying to show. Now as an adult I feel like it's one of the most underrated shows that has ever been.

It doesn't take much to know war is to be avoided. This show just confirmed reality.

MASH is still my favorite TV show. Watched it as a kid growing up. As a vet and former Army medic, this episode has always struck a chord with me. To see a man who has lost so much still rise to the occasion and be a leader because thousands of other young men under his command need him. Sacrifice, honor and duty. Words that weigh heavy on those who serve. God bless them all.

"You have any children?" "No, I'm not married." My, how times have changed.

One of the things that I have always thought that Alan Alda was really trying to show when he took over creative control, was that people going through something as horrifying and traumatic as working as a MASH unit, the people will naturally begin to lean and rely on each other, no matter how different their backgrounds are. And that eventually it will lead to a kind of love and respect for each other, to a point where they are actually family.

i love how the other solider quietly left no words needed also loved this actor in another memorable role on star trek the next generation

These were the best episodes. They ought to market M*A*S*H as two different series. The early ones in which it was "Animal House Goes To Korea", and the later episodes where it was an intelligently written, well-acted comedy-drama.

John Anderson was a lovely actor. He put such heart into all his performances. I especially liked him as the angel Gabriel in Passage for Trumpet, and the Douwd in Star Trek TNG.

John Anderson was amazing in everything he did. Would have liked to have met him and thanked him for so many roles Twilight Zone to Star Trek.

This scene always stood out to me because almost all the other high ranking officers are silly, mean, or incompetent. This was a rare high ranking officer with more dimensions.

This episode was just on TV tonight. I remembered that scene with John Anderson from years ago. He was perfect in that role, and the writing was excellent. And I always liked Hawkeye in those serious moments when he wasn't cracking wise. Thanks for posting this.

"You don't understand the scope of my crime... I killed them all." -- Kevin Uxbridge

This IS the best scene written for this series about war,It pulls alot of emotion from those who have it.

This was a show that was committed to detail, and it's the little moments you learn to appreciate, especially when watching them for the first time in a very long time. The moment where the aide quietly leaves the tent out of respect for the general when he learns his son just died. That did not need to be included, but it made the whole scene more meaningful.

MASH was one of the most poignant comedy dramas on TV in the 70s. Few shows or movies are able to evoke tears of laughter and sadness the way this show can. It allowed its characters to be multifaceted, as people are. I need to watch Saving Private Ryan now. ;)

Had to believe the writers had John Anderson in mind when they conceived this script. He was perfection.

Very good acting by the guy playing the General.....One of the Great episodes from one of the Greatest shows in the history of Tv.............

A soldier's duty is to carry on. Even after he lost his son, he carried on.

I remember the first time I saw him on TV, it was an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation where he played a husband who's wife died in an invasion, a pacifist whom when he saw his wife's dead body killed an entire species with a thought. "No, no, no, no. You don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock everywhere. Are eleven thousand people worth fifty billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species?" Such an epic actor.

I followed John Anderson all his career, this M.A.S.H.was my favorite.!

Reminds of the book "The G. I. Diary, which told of WW II battles and very small incidents. One part a naval capt asked if a fighter pilot who'd been wounded, could be transferred to his ship. They did, the captain met the pilot (his son) who said "I wonder how mom will take this" and died Later, the mother was contacted and replied "A force greater than we has taken charge of him" Then went to her job as a nurse.

"I don't have any choice" he says with tears in his eyes.

MASH is timeless. The writer's words acted out by a superlative cast carry the heavy weight of drama and the clever comedy to lighten the load.

A beautiful tribute to all fathers sons....amen

This was a very sad episode The actor that played the father was a well-known character actor through the years I think this was one of the last Mash episodes before it went off the air

MASH was the best tv show of all time.

John Anderson was always a tremendous character actor. Any scene he was in he made memorable.

I must have grown up since this episode Aired. But this has to be one of the best written and played scenes for mash that in Colonel Potter saying goodbye to his war buddies

Part of that acting is to convey the mood required of the scene . They both did an excellent job .

One thing to take away from this scene is that we see the general go through the first few steps of loss. We see that he was shocked and in disbelief. Denial. Then we see he is coming into the phase of sharing memories and personal innsight. Then we see he sinks into a reality of comparision. The pins and numbers part. Lasty we see him return to work. He just cant grieve yet. His whole world goes back into denial and trying to lose himself in his work. When he does finally mourn the loss of his son, it will have been days or months later outside the eyes of the world he knows. This scene was and is still very powerful. We all go through mourning differently. The initial shock hits us, then we come to denial, lastly we come to acceptence. However, there are many things that can happen between denial and acceptence, and it will be different for everyone. We see the general hasn't even really gone to acceptence yet. He lives on in denial though he acknowleged his son's death, he never accepted it yet.

Probably the only general Hawkeye ever liked and respect

john anderson, what a great character actor... he played a captain who disagreed with the paramedic program on an episode of emergency

MASH - the show that was like a box of chocolates with every episode. Drama, comedy, documentary, biography... you never knew what you were going to get. Credit to the writers and among the greatest TV actors to ever grace our living rooms.

So many nuanced and powerful scenes.

This actor played a real Ass step father in The Rifleman. I like his acting. Great scene here with Alan.

It's the best tv series ever. This scene is one of many outstanding scenes

"I didn't kill just one Korean, or a hundred, or a thousand... I killed them all... all Koreans... everywhere." Paraphrasing Kevin Uxbridge. John Anderson as the Douwd. Star Trek Next Gen: The Survivors

John Anderson! I tell you what, M*A*S*H is just spilling over with Twilight Zone alumni!

Yeah for all the funny episodes there was one episode like this one that seriously looked at a terrible situation and made you hate the situation

That John Anderson was one hell of an actor.

Great scene and acting... both Alda and Anderson.

I love this scene. Thank you for posting it.

John Anderson could always go below the surface and find the depth in a character. He was so underrated, as character actors usually are. A shame.

No matter that he lost his son the general had a duty to perform and he did

For me , personally, one of the TOP 10 MASH episodes....Along with: Dreams; In Love & War; Kim; OR; Smattering of Intelligence; Tuttle; Deal Me Out; Incubator; I Hate a Mystery ; etc....

John Anderson, who played the General, just didn't seem age. He was on several episodes of Perry Mason and many other shows of the 1950's, here on MASH in the 1970's and was on one of the best episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation in the 90's and he was always excellent in any role he played.

One of the better scenes during the series.

Love you ❤️ Alan Alda: simply irreplaceable...

The cost of war. They call it the butcher's bill.

“Have any children?” “No I’M NOT MARRIED”. That’s pretty profound nowadays.

Kevin Uxbridge got a bad roll here. Lost his son, and in a few hundred years loses his wife Rishon too.

At the end "I don't have any choice." I would like to think Hawkeye understood it as "Business as usuall."

My alltime favorite TV show.

That war didn't end one day sooner because of what MASH doctors did. It ended because of what generals did, or failed to do.

A brilliant scene…fantastic performance

The problem with this is it fails to note that they are there for the sake of our allies, South Korea. The show makes it appear the top officers are the ones that brought the army there to fight. Noone wants to go to war less than the men who will have to fight it. Truman and the State Department that failed to convince N. Korea they don't want to attack S. Korea are the ones on the Allied side that sent these men to war. They did it for the right reasons, to preserve freedom, but only after they failed to prevent it.

I like how the last line of the scene was "I don't have any choice!" like he's sending other children to die immediately after losing his, because despite being a general he's still trapped in the machine.

you wonder why our political leaders cannot come together like this and agree to disagree

Best M*A*S*H episode ever.

For Every MAN that Dies in War. THEIRS SOMEBODY GOING TO CRY FOR HIM ! HIS PARENTS, OR WHOEVER. I'LL CRY FOR THE NAMELESS SOULS WHO HAVE DIED IN WAR. SOMEBODY HAS TO CRY FOR THEM😭🙏✝️💋🌈✝️

He wanted his father's love and approval. That's all we ever want. And as much as we need to grieve... We have our private time. Right now, time to get back to work.

I've seen this scene many times and I always wonder if his father saw him as just another casualty, one he felt for perhaps, but just another pin on the map to be removed.

It's easiest thing in the world to judge all men from the privileged comfort of the armchair.

Should have called it, Hawkeyes War...

Both men have to detach from the lives they can't save in order to perform their duty to the best of their ability.

My wife had a fat embolism in a lung after a caesarian. It was a military hospital, and I remember the doctor being a LOT less caring about her, the baby, or me. If we weren't in uniform, I'd have punched his face in, and I'm pretty sure he was counting on it. Thankfully, I knew his boss, and he was reprimanded and it was placed in his permanent file. Not much else I could do and not go to jail.

This was something that I liked about mash. It was comical. It was fun to watch. It was entertaining but it brought reality in an exposed. The whores of war just as much as you could. A lot of people, lot of men, lot of people died in Korea and a lot of ways it could have been avoided but the people to avoid it are the ones who started it

Great clip…some are too short or abrupt and some drone on. This was the right length. “…to every man’s Son…” Thanks Algorithm

"To every man's son..." Huzzah.

Dad was medic in Korea and Vietnam...corpsman. Humor was sad...sick and needed.

To every father’s son.

Without checking anywhere...Kevin Uxbridge

Best show ever

This is how you write a point into a poignant scene.

This show lasted longer than the war

Goddamn, this is a phenomenal show.

Why don’t they make great TV shows like this anymore? Why is all of the stuff today so void of humanity?

John Anderson always great to watch. See also. T zone , H50 Tng.

This was the point when Mash was just depressing.

This doesn't get easier to watch...

I always get John Anderson and John Carridine confused.

I remember seeing acter John Anderson from cops and robbers movies made in the 1950's to the twilight zone.

this episode always struck somethin within me, fuck i love this show.

Maybe sometimes all you can keep doing is what you have control over, and try not to think too much about what you can't control

Love mash love hawkeye😊

MASH.... just..... MASH.