History Characters / Mash

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Given he's supposed to be a South Korean officer.

* LocalHangout: The main hotspot for the staff at the 4077 besides the Officer's Club.

[[folder:Dr. Daniel Pierce]]

!!Hawkeye's mom

-->'''Played by:''' Creator/EnidKent

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Klinger himself is an only child but makes references to a ''huge'' number of aunts and uncles who provide a connection whenever he or the camp needs something.

!!Others

[[folder:Gen. Bartford Hamilton Steele]]
!!General Bartford Hamilton Steele
->'''Played by:''' Creator/HarryMorgan

An... "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} eccentric]]" general who was sent to the 4077 to inspect the place. Notable for being the first time Harry Morgan appeared on the series, before officially joining the regular cast as Col. Potter.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: He ''has'' to be, considering a man like him managed to rise through the ranks to become a general.
* CloudCuckooLander: Oh, ''most'' '''''definitely'''''. Whether he's always been like that or has only recently become senile or shell-shocked is unclear.
* DrillSergeantNasty: He's got the personality and the voice of one.
* KickedUpstairs: After his failed attempt to court martial Hawkeye and get the 4077th moved closer to the front, he's given a promotion and a transfer to a stateside post.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: He has two brothers (a senator and another general), who presumably pull some strings to keep him from being disciplined after his insanity becomes obvious.

[[folder:Lt. Gen. "Iron Guts" Kelly]]
!!Lt. General Robert "Iron Guts" Kelly
->'''Played by:''' Creator/JamesGregory

A highly decorated general who went on a tour of the 4077th and... well, [[OutWithABang he never made it back]].

* AFatherToHisMen: Kelly seemed less strict or by-the-book towards compared to any other generals who visited the M*A*S*H.
* FrontlineGeneral: He leads from the front, although unlike many similar examples on the show there's no indication that he gets his men needlessly endangered in the process. Also unlike other examples on the show, his being alive was optional.
* OfCorpseHesAlive: His death is covered up in this manner for several hours by his aide and the doctors as they try to find a way to make it look as though he died in battle to preserve his legacy.

* OutWithABang: He dies of a heart attack while having a "visit" with Margaret in her tent.

[[folder:Dr. Syn Palik]]
!!Dr. Syn Palik/Captain Cho-wan Ho
->'''Played by:''' Soon-Tek Oh

A North Korean surgeon and soldier who Hawkeye and B.J. take a liking to and briefly help him take on an identity as American-Korean soldier at the 4077.

* FriendlyEnemy: His first scene has him telling the doctors his prognosis of ''American'' soldiers and begging them to help the ones he identified as most critical. The main premise of the episode has him effectively defect from North Korea to join the camp's medical staff.
-->'''Dr. Palik:''' You know I wish circumstances would be different and we could work together.
-->'''Hawkeye:''' ''[surprised]'' You'd be willingly to do that?
-->'''Dr. Palik:''' If you can treat the enemy,''[shrugs]'' why can't ''I''?
* GracefulLoser: He takes the end of the deception with rueful acceptance.
* {{Irony}}: He's a North Korean but shows more compassion for enemy soldiers than a member of the American army medical staff (the "good guys"). Granted that member was [[{{Jerkass}} Frank]] [[HateSink Burns]] who couldn't show an milligram of compassion to save his life.
* NiceGuy: He takes the oath "Do No Harm" as seriously as the doctors (sans [[{{Jerkass}} Frank Burns]]) to the point he's willing to actually work with his "enemies" in order to treat critically wounded soldiers.
* PaperThinDisguise: All it takes is a shave and a haircut along with some forged transfer orders to convince everyone he's an American surgeon with the army and not the North Korean soldier sent out on a bus less than an hour before. The only person who is really suspicious of him is Margaret ([[EvilIsPetty Frank only agreed out of petty jealously]]).
* VillainRespect: He gets along fabulously with Hawkeye and B.J. despite being part of the [[GreaterScopeVillain The Korean's People Army]], impressed by their surgical skills, techniques, and most of all their compassion. The respect is mutual with Hawkeye and B.J. arguing against sending him to a P.O.W. camp over a "technicality".
-->'''Colonel Potter:''' "''Technicality''"? This man's the '''enemy'''!
-->'''Hawkeye:''' Enemy-schemeny! He's a doctor and damn good one!

[[folder:Lt. Carlye Breslin]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/BlytheDanner

One of two new nurses that arrive at the 4077 and whom Hawkeye had a relationship with back in Med School before they "busted up", notably being the only woman he claims to have been in love with.

* BeYourself: Probably the only person who gently calls Hawkeye out on being a trying too hard SadClown, and he at least tries to stop instead of getting defensive. Ultimately subverted, as she doesn't like who she is with him, and feels like he's ruining her.
* BrokenBird: It’s heavily implied that she was a mess like Hawkeye, running away because she felt abandoned by him MarriedToTheJob, feeling like she "had to survive".
-->'''Hawkeye:''' Carlye Breslin, altogether unusual.
* TheCaretaker: Like so many of Hawkeye's type, a lot of her self worth is wrapped up in people needing her, telling him that if he’d been less good at medicine he might have needed her more.
* DeadpanSnarker: Her EstablishingCharacterMoment is her making a joke about Korean women's breasts flipping a few topknots. Her sense of humor is gentler than Hawkeye’s, but still very dry.
* DesperatelyCravesAffection: As is often with Hawkeye and his serious relationships, they were seriously co-dependent, and despite the fact that a surgical residency is grueling, they wanted to be with each other every hour or, as he puts it, "he got the bends".
* {{Foil}}: To Billy. Nasty baggage in Hawkeye's past, although for the most part Carlye treats him a lot nicer than Billy did, they get defensive at something terrible they did - saying Hawkeye made it happen, and he loves and despises both of them.
* FreudianExcuse: Played with, as Hawkeye was a clingy mess who had a lot of sex before her, but her leaving him is just one more abandonment in his life, so he barely tries committing with anyone else.
* HasAType: Men who are good with words. Hawkeye is Hawkeye, she herself has a deadpan sense of humor, and her husband is a naval officer who will go back to advertising.
* MythologyGag: Hawkeye in the first book has an unnamed wife along with three children in the sequel.
* NeverMyFault: While fair enough that she felt alone, she also left her boyfriend without a goodbye, wanting it to be quick and painless for herself despite being soft with him for everything else and knowing he has issues. Hawkeye calls her on it.
--->'''Carlye:''' ''(in surgery)'' Sorry.\\
'''Hawkeye:''' There's a new word in your vocabulary.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Hawkeye and Breslin were in love and living together during his time in Med School but broke up due to his dedication to medicine which she claims was his "first and only love."
* StepfordSnarker: She's horrified to hear her old boyfriend again after so long, but puts on a smile and she and Hawkeye pretend to not know each other (even when he passive aggressives/self loathes that only creeps get sent to a MASH), her face only falling like Trapper's did when she's alone.
* ThinksLikeARomanceNovel: She's just as emotionally stunted as Hawkeye is, needing a codependent love where "two people can't live without each other", and entered a relationship with an already dysfunctional man working 110 hours a week, still wanting to come first.
* WomanChild: In her own way. She needs a love where two people can’t live without each other, is soft but prone to NeverMyFault, pokes Hawkeye with "why haven't you deserted" (not seeming to get that he really would be hanged then) and admits she’s only smart sometimes.

[[folder:Kwang]]
!!Kwang
->'''Played by:''' Creator/SabShimono

A North Korean soldier sent to spy on the 4077 in order to replicate their effectiveness and success rate posing as Winchester's South Korean houseboy.

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: He's on his way back to North Korea when Colonel Potter, Hawkeye, and B.J. present him with a Letter of Achievement for his help with a cure for the rash affecting the casualties.
* BeneathNotice: No-one at camp ever finds out that he's a North Korean spy believing him a bad-English-speaking South Korean.
* TheButlerDidIt: A houseboy who is spying on the camp.
* InVinoVeritas: In TheStinger, he's having a drink with the doctors and all of them are ''pretty'' drunk. All of them have a laugh when they notice his English suddenly improves and he claims its the whiskey.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He pretends to not speak English well in order to better help his cover and while drunk is shown to be quite articulate. Rather than a language barrier, his confusion comes from the general madness of the camp's staff.
* TheMole: Sent by the Intelligence Division of the People's Army to find out the secret of the camp's success rate only to realize that they're all insane (at least to his point of view).
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After deeming his mission a failure, Kwang plans to leave in the middle of the night citing Winchester's BadBoss status as the reason. Doesn't stop him from having one last drink with the doctors...

[[folder:Pvt. Paul Conway]]
!!Pvt. Paul Conway
->'''Played by:''' Ed Begley Jr.

A private who is a patient for the during of the season 8 premiere, "''Too Many Cooks''" before retuning to the front-line.

* TheKlutz: Put a rifle in his hand, the guy will find a way to trip into a foxhole and break his leg along with the collar bones of the guy he fell on. Give him a spatula and he's a cooking '''god''' especially compared to the 4077's usual cooking disasters.
* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: While the Army is by no means infallible, everyone ''including'' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Major Houlihan]] agrees in this case the army messed up by making such a great cook a rifleman.
-->'''Private Conway:''' I told them I was a cook and they made me a rifleman.
-->'''B.J.''': See you should've lied! I'm a plumber look where they sent me!
-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Hawkeye]]:''' Worked out so far, none of his patients have sprung a leak.
* NiceGuy: How else do you describe a guy who turns down a cushy job in Seoul to be a cook for his unit ''at the Front''.
* SupremeChef: An incredible cook from Cafe Pierre New York who gives the 4077 a much needed reprieve from the vile concoctions that usually come out of the Mess Tent.
-->'''Charles:''' Sir! If ours were a truly civilized nation, you would be...''king''!
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Has the chance to be part of the personal cooking staff for a general; choses to return to his unit as a army cook.

[[folder:R. Williamson]]
!!R. Theodore Williamson
->'''Played by:''' Lawrence Pressman

An aide for Congressman Daniel Lurie who comes to the 4077 looking for a suspected Communist sympathizer: Major Margaret Houlihan.

* BatmanGambit: How the staff get him to drop[ his "investigation" into Margaret: Pierce, Hunnicutt, and Winchester tells in passing to Williamson about the Major's [[ReallyGetsAround romantic history]] so that he'll go to her counting on him trying to seduce Margaret. She was on it as well as Klinger was hiding in her closet [[{{Blackmail}} in order to take a photo of them in bed to threaten him with]].
* HateSink: Becomes this InUniverse and out- when he accuses Margaret of being a Communist ''before'' he tries to [[CastingCouch leverage it into spending a night with her]]. And he wasn't even going to protect her like he said he would.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Claims to be a model honest American only to use his position to solicitate sex from others using his position and the RedScare. Then it turns out he's a liar on top of that.
* IronicEcho: He claims to have the ear of the Congressmen which gets a CallBack to in TheStinger after his wife is revealed to be having an affair.
-->'''Major Houlihan:''' ''[laughing]'' Well that seems fair, he [Williamson] got the Congressman's ear and she [his wife] got the rest.
* JerkWithTheHeartOfAJerk: He makes it out to be like he's just doing the job no-one else does, but is really a weasel and a creep who'll use his job to his every advantage.
* RedScare: Is at the 4077 to investigate a Communist sympathizer and represents all the [[{{Jerkass}} assholes]] who took advantage of it for their own means and pleasures.

[[folder:Col. Bringham Lacy]]
!!Col. Bringham Lacy
->'''Played by:''' James Wainwright

A Colonel operating in the same sector as the 4077 and for a time their "chief supplier" due to having the largest casualty rate of any other battalion commander.

* BadBoss: His men call him a "maniac" for recklessly putting their lives at risk and none too happy to see him when he visits Post-Op with one outright saying he'd kill Lacy if sent back. When the Colonel tries to give out Purple Hearts to them, none of men want them and one goes into cardiac arrest!
* ColonelKilgore: Lieutenant Colonel Lacy fits this trope, as he has an almost single-minded obsession with taking a certain Communist-held hill. Not for any strategic or tactical reason (and it's pretty much spelled out that taking that hill won't shorten the war by a millisecond), but [[GloryHound because it'll satisfy his own sense of martial glory and put him in good stead for a promotion]].
* GenreBlind: After its made clear that Hawkeye and B.J. hates his guts for all the wounded Lacy's responsible for, the colonel ''still'' agrees to have drinks with the doctors. Hawkeye is able to slip him a "mickey" in his drink and before an operation on him for appendicitis which will sent stateside to recuperate.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Lacy is every unpopular with everyone especially Pierce and Hunnicutt to the point that when he's denied permission to attack a hill, Lacy decides to send a "reconnaissance unit" there and deliberately set off a battle claiming self-defense.
* GloryHound: Everything Lacy cares about centers around his success as a battalion commander, measuring victories by the number of battles and not the number of men who died.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Doesn't seem to realize that as a commander, it's Lacy's first priority to obey orders to achieve assigned military objectives and attempt to minimize causalities in service of those objectives. He seems confused by Margaret's horror at Lacy's casualness at the prospect of leading a battle with at least a 20% casualty rate.

[[folder:Aggie O'Shea]]
!!Aggie O'Shea
-> '''Played by:''' Susan Saint James

[[IntrepidReporter A journalist and the titular "War Correspondent"]] from the Season 8 episode. She was attached to a unit that came under enemy fire and was evaced to the 4077. She quickly makes friends with the staff and develops a romantic interest in [[HappilyMarried B.J.]].

* DistaffCounterpart: Snarky and irreverent, and humourously flirty with a need to help? B.J. equating liking her and liking his best friend? Hawaiian shirt? She's the female Hawkeye.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Her first scene is on the evac bus holding a soldier's hand revealing that it made him feel safer, showing an utter calmness amongst the chaos.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone in camp can see there's an obvious attraction between B.J. and Aggie with rumors going around about them to the point the only ones completely sure nothing went on is Father Mulcahy and Hawkeye.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: When they first meet, B.J. is shocked to discover that this beautiful woman is ''the'' Aggie O'Shea, whom he pictured as some "grizzled-old matron".
* {{Foil}}: To Carrie Dovovan, a nurse from Season 5 ''Hany Panky''. Both women are the only women B.J. is tempted to stray from his marriage and cause him to fall off the "fidelity wagon". The difference is while B.J. ''does'' spend the night with Carrie[[note]]It's not made clear just '''what''' went on.[[/note]] he doesn't with Aggie. Also Carrie is treated as a sort-of one night stand while B.J. sees Aggie differently, someone he could marry and live the rest of his life with.
* HotScoop: An beautiful woman even in army fatigues, her job as a journalist has taken her around the world and when we meet her, its during her second tour in Korea.
* IntrepidReporter: Her main job is a reporter and has been all around the world, covering various events.
* LoveTriangle: Two, one PlayedForDrama and one PlayedForLaughs with her and B.J. as two corners of both. The comedic one involves Hawkeye's usual attempts to swoon her falling flat and a little annoyed at her interest for the HappilyMarried and loyal B.J. The other is between Aggie, B.J., and Pegg but nevertheless B.J. does not stray despite the temptation.
* NiceGirl: Incredibly sweet and uses her connections in order to get the staff someone items they requested such as 12-year-old scotch for Hawkeye and bath soaps for Margaret.
* [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Omnidisciplinary Reporter]]: According to Aggie what type of reporter she currently is, is based on whatever story she's covering with her coverage of the Korean War making her a war correspondent.
-->'''Aggie:''' Actually I started with Silly Putty...Did an article about it when it first came out in "49, somebody liked it so I'm a specialty writer. Florence Chadwick's channel swim in "50, and I'm a woman's writer who also does sketches. Sugar Ray beats Jake [=LaMotta=] and I'm a sports writer...

[[folder:Col. Horace Baldwin]]
!!Colonel Horace Baldwin
->'''Played by:''' Creator/RobertSymonds

A Colonel stationed in Tokyo who makes a brief appearance in the Season 6 premiere and is the one responsible for sending Winchester to the 4077. Makes a return in ''No Laughing Matter'' on a "fact finding mission".
----
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: He doesn't recognize Winchester on first meeting him again despite being one of his best surgeons. 'Course this is ''[[InsufferableGenius Charles]]'' we're talking about, but one would think Baldwin would remember a guy he owes over 500 bucks to.
* DirtyOldMan: His "fact finding missions" are implied to be an excuse to get his rocks off, and he greets Margaret in a hood and a pair of "leather pajamas".
* DisproportionateRetribution: He loses to Winchester at cribbage enough times to owe him over ''$500'' and change, though him sending Charles to the 4077 was to get out of paying the bet than getting back at him. In this case, Col. Potter is well aware of that gambling debt and he doesn't mind considering that circumstance allowed him to get a replacement surgeon quickly when Frank Burns went AWOL.
* {{Irony}}: His plan to frame Margaret would probably had worked if Winchester hadn't gone to several, subtle, levels of CharacterDevelopment... development he never had gone through if Winchester was still in Tokyo instead of being sent to the M*A*S*H*.
* {{Jerkass}}: He sent [[ButForMeItWasTuesday Winchester to the Front and doesn't even recognize him]], tries to extort him to find the colonel some professional company, and when Baldwin mistakes Margaret for said company tries to do the same in oder make ''him'' to be the victim.

[[folder:Col. Lawrence Wheems]]
!!Col. Lawrence Wheems
->'''Played by:''' Creator/TomAtkins

A colonel whose appearance leaves a bad taste in the mouths of all the surgeons when visiting the 4077, thanks to his [[RacistGrandpa questionable management skills regarding his Black soldiers]].

* BadBoss: Besides sending his African-American soldiers into dangerous territories he wants to keep one of his white soldiers due to the mans equipment skills even though the guys earned a bad injury which would get him sent home and would probably want to go.
* BornInTheWrongCentury: As [[{{Lampshaded}} pointed out]] by Potter;
-->'''Col. Potter:''' Major you're fighting the wrong war, the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar Civil War]]'' ended almost a hundred years ago.
* InsaneTrollLogic: His plan is rather simple in its utter stupidity: he assigns his Black troops the more dangerous assignments which either result in them a) getting more points and rotated home faster and/or b) get wounded and ship stateside that way or c) simply die.
* OhCrap: When he sees a black officer inside the Swamp and realizes he's been tricked into an EngineeredPublicConfession.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: A Colonel in the U.S. Army (which is supposed to be the "good guys"), he also has some ''very'' slanted views about his Black troops referring to the desegregation of soldiers as "Uncle Sam burning the toast".
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A couple calls to other M*A*S*H* units reveals he visits all of his wounded men and they have nothing but good things to say about him. Until he arrived at the 4077, only the soldiers under his command knew what he was really about.
* VillainousFriendship: He's quite cordial and pleasant with the doctors when he thinks they're on his side.

[[folder:Pvt. Jimmy Weston]]
!!Pvt. Jimmy Weston
->'''Played by:''' Kario Salem

A mortally wounded soldier who dies at the beginning of the episode ''Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead''... [[OurGhostsAreDifferent and decides to stick around for the duration of the episode]].

* CassandraTruth: {{Lampshaded}} by Weston himself that the only person that can see him in the whole camp is Klinger, whose delirious from a high fever so no-one will believe him anyways.
* DeadToBeginWith: The episode literally begins with him dying from his wounds and the remainder of the episode has him comes to grips with it before moving on.
* FiveStagesOfGrief: Experiences this as Weston comes to realize that he's dead going from "Denial" to "Acceptance".
* {{Irony}}: The one person who can see or hear him is Klinger who not only is suffering from a high fever and infection, but has a '''long''' history of trying [[ObfuscatingInsanity to make himself look nuts]].

[[folder:Col. Woody Cooke]]
!!Col. Woody Cooke
->'''Played by:''' Creator/JohnMcLiam

An old friend of Col. Potter and a desk jockey from I-Corps who ends at the 4077 after recklessly endangering himself and a unit of soldiers when he illegally took command of it despite the fact that he had no authority to do so within that chain of command.

* AesopAmnesia: InUniverse. Despite the fact he nearly got himself and whole bunch of people killed, all Cooke can think about is the rush of being in combat again and wants back in. Potter's report on his actions are likely to put an end to those aspirations quickly.
* GlorySeeker: Part of the reason he went out into battle the way he did was because Cooke missed the excitement of battle and the thrill of danger.
* IgnoredExpert: Not him by a long shot despite what he might think. The only reason Cooke and the soldiers he turned up with are wounded was because he ignored the Major in charge of the unit about a particularly dangerous ridge.
* NeverMyFault: PlayedWith as he seems to recognize that he made a mistake but doesn't believe he should be thrown out of the Army or stripped of his command over a mistake he made that nearly got him and a lot of people hurt. When Potter tells him that he is going on report at I-Corps, he goes into an immature hissy fit about being betrayed because he has to face real consequences for his reckless actions and renounces his friendship.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Cooke is an old soldier and many of his friends from the Army are now Colonels and Generals at I-Corps. As such, the platoon he encountered didn't report his reckless actions because of this trope including Col. Potter.
* SoldiersAtTheRear: Cooke is assigned to garrison duty concerning fuel logistics and could have easily sent a subordinate to investigate a problem near the front. Instead, that arrogant GlorySeeker went himself and illegally assumed command of an infantry unit's duties that he had no business working with and those soldiers paid the price for his incompetence.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He ends a decades-old friendship with Potter all because the latter refuses to risk anyone else's life on the chance Woody would pull a stunt like he had just done.

[[folder:Lt. "Smilin' Jack" Mitchell]]
!!Lt. "Smilin' Jack" Mitchell
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/RobertHogan

One of the chopper pilots, and a friend of Potter who receives an unwanted transfer after being diagnosed with diabetes.

* AcePilot: He's able to bring in four wounded patients (twice the usual number) to camp on his last run.
* CameraFiend: Jack takes pictures of the people he brings to the camp, believing it to be a good luck ritual which will help them live.
* CoolShades: Jack often wears standard aviator sunglasses.
* GloryHound: Even after being medically grounded he's determined to fly in more patients in order to set the record for the most evacuees before he leaves.
* GracefulLoser: After losing out on the record after all he takes it relatively well.
* KnifeThrowingAct: Jack does one with syringes that tips Potter off to his condition.
* TheRival: To "Dangerous" Dan, his main-but-unseen competition for the record.
* TheScrounger: Jack is capable of digging up sparse medical supplies for the doctors.
* ShoutOut: His nickname most likely comes from the comic strip character of the same name.

[[folder:Lt. "Cowboy" Hodges]]
!!Lt. John "Cowboy" Hodges
-> '''Played by:''' Billy Green Bush

A Western chopper pilot who becomes obsessed with going home.

* CrazyJealousGuy: Zigzagged. He becomes obsessed with the idea that his wife is cheating on him when there's a delay in her letters (she isn't) but doesn't target his wrath on her, but rather on Colonel Blake, for refusing Cowboy permission to go home and patch things up with her.
--> '''Cowboy:''' ''She's probably off with some rodeo rider; she's a sucker for a 10-gallon hat!''
* EasilyForgiven: He makes peace with Colonel Blake, who decides not to charge him with attempted murder of a superior officer.
* ManlyFacialHair: He is a gun-toting explosives expert who has a prominent handlebar mustache.
* MeaningfulAppearance: He wears a ten gallon cowboy hat (and a gun holster) all the time, hence his nickname.

[[folder:Lieutenant Branumm]]
-->'''Played by:''' Michal Swan
A chopper pilot who appears in the episode "As Time Goes By."

* HellBentForLeather: He wears a leather aviator jacket and comes back as a stoic and level-headed professional.
* HumbleHero: Prior to his appearing onscreen, his chopper broke its fan belt and could only travel short distances at a time. His radio was shot out by a sniper and he couldn't call for help. The chopper could travel 200 yards at a time, so he walked and had to scout ahead for the enemy soldiers. He would then go back to the chopper and fly the 200 yards, repeating this process dozens of times to travel several miles throughout the night until arriving at the camp. He doesn't speak a word about this to the doctors, merely asking for a replacement part for his chopper, delivering his patient and then departing without telling anyone what he did or waiting for the patient he saved to thank him. It's only through talking to the patient that the gang learns what he did.
* ManlyFacialHair: He has a notable mustache and is a brave, serious man.

[[folder:Billy]]
!!Billy, whether his last name is Pierce is unknown

Hawkeye's cousin, who was six years older.
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing: All the adults loved him, and Hawkeye thought he was the coolest. Contrast to Hawkeye himself, who was well established to be an off-putting child.
* KnightOfCerebus: An ultimately abusive boy (with strong grooming vibes) who messed up Hawkeye so badly that he and Sidney have to talk about how, ''in a war zone'', Hawkeye's real experience with him laid him out.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Shoving Hawkeye into the water, and then blaming him for it, acting like it was his fault and baby Hawkeye thanking him for it, plays into Hawkeye's every serious relationship in adulthood. The magazines twelve year old Billy showed him as a six year old also taught him about sex.
* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: Pushes Hawkeye off the boat, drags him back up, and tells him "you'd be dead if it weren't for me".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pvt. Igor Straminsky]]
!!Pvt. Igor Straminsky
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Straminsky_2944.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Jeff Maxwell (usually; [[TheOtherDarrin Peter Riegert]] replaced Maxwell in two sixth season episodes)

The 4077's long-suffering mess hall and kitchen staffer, who endures the bulk of the camp's disgust-fueled abuse over the lousy quality of their rations.

* TheBartender: When not in the mess hall he sometimes tends bar at the officer's club.
* ButtMonkey: Whenever people are upset about the food, they always take it out on him. And he has to listen all of their complaints before ''he'' can eat any of the food himself. After putting up with it for so long, he finally calls them out in "Morale Victory".
* CampCook[=/=]LethalChef: Although technically, he merely serves the awful food rather than cooking it. (The actual cook, a Sgt. Pernelli, was mostly unseen but did appear in a few later-season episodes.)
* TheDitz: He's frequently portrayed as a mild version of this. Most notably, in one episode revolving around the celebrations of a year spent in Korea, he takes the ears of corn lovingly grown by Father Mulcahy and ''creams them'', affrontedly suggesting that next time he'll just roast them on the cob (which is what Mulcahy and the others had wanted in the first place) when he sees the Irish priest's angry disbelief. HE also washes his hands before digging latrines instead of afterwards so as to not contaminate the latrine with the food from the mess hall.
* DumbButDiligent: He won't win any medals for intelligence, but Igor is competent and hard-working enough that no one complains about him (they just complain about everything else his job entails).
* NeverMyFault: He takes out his frustrations at not getting promoted on Hawkeye (one of the members of the promotion committee) despite the fact that he was patently unfit for promotion, as shown during his oral exam when he couldn't answer basic Army questions that even a ''civilian'' would know.
* SuddenNameChange: In the "Bug Out" episode he's addressed as "Sowkowitz" by Hawkeye and B.J..
** In one episode, Frank demands his name. The actor accidentally gave his real last name of Maxwell and Larry Linville decided to ThrowItIn and kept going.%%invoked

[[folder:Sgt. Zelmo Zale]]
!!Sgt. Zelmo Zale
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zelmo_Zale_2639.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JohnnyHaymer

One of the minor sergeants who were part of the 4077's staff, the Brooklyn-born Zale was officially rostered as the unit's supply sergeant. Appeared rarely, and was mostly notable for his hot temper and frequent bickering with Klinger.

* AlliterativeName: Zelmo Zale.
* ArchEnemy: He and Klinger had a long-running feud.
* BrooklynRage: Very much a hot-blooded New Yorker.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: After his last appearance (which comes in Radar's farewell episode, coincidentally enough) he vanishes without explanation.
* GadgeteerGenius: Claims to be one, but his invention ends up failing spectacularly and injuring Hawkeye.
* SitcomArchNemesis: With Klinger, with him mocking Klinger's cross-dressing, discharge attempts, and hometown. It culminates in the episode "End Run", when Burns suggests they fight out their troubles after Klinger refuses to take part in a bar fight at Rosie's and Zale calls him out [[{{Hypocrite}} despite Zale himself sitting out the fight.]] They settle their differences before the fight, and further interactions between them are less heated.

[[folder:Sgt. Luther Rizzo]]
!!Sgt. Luther Rizzo
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Luther_Rizzo_3694.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/GWBailey

The unit's motor pool sergeant. A lazy, unambitious sluggard from Louisiana who by his own admission only joined the service because he thought it was a perfectly good skive. As he puts it, where else but in the Army can you be a bum and actually get ''paid'' for it?

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Downplayed. He seems to be asleep whenever he's on duty, drunk or gambling whenever he's not, but the motor pool is always ready to go. He's also a pretty good teacher as all of the students who take his remedial driving course pass the written exam with high scores on the first try (except Col. Potter, who slept through most of it).
* DrillSergeantNasty: While normally laid back, he's pretty tough on the people he works through re-qualifying for their driver's licenses. At least until he finds out Colonel Potter (who he's terrified of flunking or shouting at) is in his latest class.
* LazyBum: He's often sleeping on the job and openly boasts that he joined the army to get paid for being a bum.
* LoanShark: He puts the bite on Winchester (at 100% interest per day) in "That Darn Kid".
* {{Sleepyhead}}: Uses his assignment in the motor pool as an excuse to spend the day sleeping underneath the Jeeps that he's ostensibly repairing.
-->'''Rizzo:''' Could you hold it down? There are people trying to work--Oh my gosh, it's night. Could you hold it down? There are people trying to sleep.
* SimpleMindedWisdom: Not very bright, but he does show moments of wisdom like when he gives Klinger advice about how to handle army life.
* [[SouthernFriedPrivate Southern Fried Sergeant]]: A sergeant with a thick southern accent and mannerisms.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: He is not happy to find out that Colonel Potter is in his driving class.

[[folder:Lt. Kealani Kellye]]
!!Lt. Kealani Kellye
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mash_Kelleye_3353.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/KellyeNakahara

The most prominent recurring nurse character, a Japanese-Hawaiian (or, in "Life Time", a Chinese-Hawaiian).

* ADayInTheLimelight: "Hey, Look Me Over", the last season premiere, centers around her. Her actress was well-liked among the cast, so Alan Alda surprised her with the episode.
* AlliterativeName: Kealani Kellye
* AscendedExtra: Originally a background character, Kellye began to get more exposure and dialogue in the show's later years, culminating in a well-regarded ADayInTheLimelight episode.
* TheDanza: Played by actress Kellye Nakahara, in a couple of episodes (before the writers finally settled on "Kealani Kellye"), the character was named "Lt. Kellye Nakahara"
* DudeWheresMyRespect: This was the point of her ADayInTheLimelight episode ("Hey, Look Me Over"), showing Hawkeye being a JerkAss to her (through seeing right through her and ignoring her) just because she doesn't measure up to Hawkeye's standards of beauty.
* GirlishPigtails: Her favored hairstyle.
* SuddenNameChange: AND HOW! As an extra, she was called "Nurse Able" or "Nurse Baker", which were the placeholder names for any generic nurses in the scripts (she shared the names with the other regular background nurses, as it was apparently assigned to whichever nurse had a line in the particular episode). As her character started to expand, she was assigned differing names -- one episode she was Nurse Yamato, in another, she was [[TheDanza Nurse Nakahara]], before the writers finally settled on "Kealani Kellye".%%invoked

[[folder:Lt. Peggy Bigelow]]
!!Lt. Peggy Bigelow
[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thumb_misc_kent.jpg]]

-->'''Played by:''' Creator/EnidKent

One of the more commonly recurring nurses, she is a constant target for Hawkeye's flirting and, after a while, begins returning his attentions.

* PromotedToLoveInterest: While they never make anything official, she and Hawkeye spend a lot of time flirting and are implied to go on several dates together.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Having served during both World War 2 and the Korean War, as well as working in a hospital emergency room prior to that, she states at the end of the series that she is spent and simply wants to get away from all the horrors she has seen.
* SpottingTheThread: During the attempt to figure out who the killer is in ''The Rooster Crowed At Midnight,'' she shoots down the second theory when she remembers why that person can't be the killer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lt. Mickey Baker]]
!!Lt. Mickey Baker
->'''Played by:''' Various (seasons 1-6), Jan Jorden (seasons 7-11)

Another recurring nurse. Initially a placeholder name for a generic background nurse who was played by whatever actress available but regularly played by Jan Jorden in seasons 7-11.

* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: One of a handful of nurses whose name comes from the MilitaryAlphabet as it was during the Korean War, along with Nurse Able and Nurse Charlie (though the latter was quickly dropped while Able and Baker stuck around until the end).
* ADayInTheLimelight: "The Nurses" focuses on her and a visit from her husband Tony, with Hawkeye and B.J. secretly helping them get a night together to make up for missing their honeymoon. This episode establishes her first name as Mickey.
* DeadpanSnarker: She can be pretty sarcastic when she wants to be. In "Patent 4077", when Margaret busts the nurses' butts over her lost ring, Baker says, "I wish she'd take my wedding ring. It'd be worth a divorce to have her off our backs."
* DependingOnTheWriter: Is she devoted to her husband or a hopeless flirt? Since Nurse Baker was originally a placeholder name, it took a few seasons before the writers figured her out.
* SuddenNameChange: Early on, the name Janet Baker was used. It's possible that there has been more than one Nurse Baker in the series, though. The show has always been vague about whether the various actresses are playing the same Baker or not.
* TomboyishName: The name Mickey can be short for Michelle and was already sometimes used by women by the mid-twentieth century, but even today, it is more commonly thought of as a man's name.

[[folder:Maj. Sidney Freedman]]
!!Maj. Sidney Freedman
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dr_Sidney_Freedman_from_Mash_6232.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/AllanArbus

A psychiatrist assigned to the 121st EVAC Hospital in Seoul, he frequently visits the 4077 to assist on difficult cases... and to get in on the occasional poker game.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: During an episode where a soldier thinks he is Jesus, this exchange takes place:
-->'''B.J.:''' Come to see your savior?
-->'''Sidney:''' Mine? No. Yours?
-->'''B.J.:''' Who knows?
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** "Dear Sigmund" is narrated by him as a "letter" to [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freud]].
** "War of Nerves" also gives him considerable focus.
* BookEnds: In his first appearance on the show, he exits the scene by telling the doctors, "Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice. Pull down your pants, and slide on the ice."[[note]]The originator of the phrase was Allan Sherman.[[/note]] In the series finale, after deeming Hawkeye mentally fit, and knowing this will probably be the last time he sees everyone in the 4077th, he deliberately invokes this by once again exiting with that line.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not all the time, but when he's in the mood he can more than hold his own with Hawkeye and company. For instance, on being confronted with [[WholesomeCrossdresser Klinger]] in his first appearance, he loses it a little:
-->"You got me up here to ask about ''him''? About ''that''?... All the way from Seoul, to ask me what? Whether he needs a girdle under that? Whether his seams are straight?"
* DespairEventHorizon: In "War of Nerves", when it turns out one of Sidney's patients committed suicide. Father Mulcahy notes they're [[NotSoDifferentRemark not that different]].
-->'''Sidney:''' When Pierce and Hunnicutt lose one, he's out of his misery. When I lose one, I've lost a mind.
-->'''Mulcahy:''' When I lose one, I've lost a soul.
* DirtyBusiness: He doesn’t ''like'' having to do meatball therapy, sending boys back to the front or giving Hawkeye just enough to hold on until the next breakdown, but like the doctors sewing up fast, it’s what he has to do.
* GuestStarPartyMember: Occasionally joins the team to assist them with healing troubled patients, including one shift in the O.R. actually performing surgery.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: He's very much like Hawkeye in terms of morals and ethics, just one from a different field of medicine and from a different unit.
* HonoraryTrueCompanion: The 4077th seem to regard Sidney as one of their own, even though he's not stationed with them. He nevertheless fits right in with them due to the similarities he shares with them.
** And it transferred to offscreen as well -- Allan Arbus was so well-liked by the cast and crew that he was apparently at one point offered a spot in the regular cast.[[note]]One version of the story had him offered the spot in the cast vacated by Creator/GaryBurghoff when he left the show in Season 7.[[/note]] He turned it down as he didn't want to be tied to a regular series, but he kept making guest appearances up till the final episode.
* LaymansTerms: Freedman states that in his personal diagnosis of Flagg, he's "spooky".
* MeaningfulEcho: As he's bidding farewell in the final episode, he repeats a line he'd used in Season 3's "O.R." when he first appeared. Alan Alda noted in the reunion special that he personally selected this line as Sidney's departing line because it was the one that resonated best.
-->"You know, I told you people something a long time ago, and it's just as pertinent today as it was then. Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice: Pull down your pants and slide on the ice."
* MyNaymeIs: As Hawkeye explains to Col. Flagg in one episode, Sidney's surname is spelled "with two 'E's, as in 'freedom'".
* LyingToProtectYourFeelings: Knows full well that what Hawkeye needs most (in what can be given in an army setting) is reassurance that he will be okay, and that all Sidney can really do is give him tools so he can cope until the next breakdown. This has drawbacks, as Hawkeye gets steadily chipped away until the end.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Technically, he is, although he's very hesitant to help with surgery in "O.R." when the camp is having a crisis, saying he hasn't done any sort of surgery since medical school. He's still able to help by taking the less serious cases.(Some fans have wondered about this over the years, but as a psychiatrist, Sidney actually is an M.D.; he attended medical school and would have trained at least basic surgery before deciding on a specialty. Psy'''cholog'''ists are the ones who have Ph.D's, not medical degrees.)
* TheOmniscient: Downplayed. He’s too good of a therapist for the fifties, and understands things (that there’s more pain buried in "Hawk's Nightmare" for example) before Hawkeye can process them, but he doesn’t push and lets Hawkeye figure it out in his own time.
* OnlySaneMan: Occasionally.
* OpenHeartDentistry: In "O.R." he has to lend a hand in surgery due to the 4077 overflowing with casualties. He helps out with simpler procedures and closing patients up and notes that it's been a very long time since he actually used these skills.
* TheShrink: Awesome variety. ''Psychology Today'' once lauded him as the "[[http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/grand-rounds/201109/best-tv-shrink-ever-heres-dr-sidney-freedman best TV shrink ever]]".
* SuddenNameChange: Freedman's first name is given as "Milton" in his initial appearance. (Perhaps the change was made so viewers wouldn't confuse him with the economist Milton Friedman?)
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Thanks to him, averted. Though he mentions at least once that he could use a therapist sometimes. He has his own breakdown prior to "Dear Sigmund", due to the workload and losing cases due to the strain the war was putting on his patients.
* TookALevelInKindness: In his first appearance, Sidney enjoys trolling Klinger and is somewhat apathetic. In later appearances, he's generally a friendly, compassionate guy to everyone and hopes that someday Klinger can get out on his own terms.
* ToughLove: Like the surgeons with their meatball surgery, he has to get his patients (and Hawkeye) ready to function again and can't do much more.
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Drops ''tuchus'' on occasion. Justified if, as suggested above, he's Jewish.

[[folder:Col. Sam Flagg]]
!!Lt. Col. (later Col.) Sam Flagg
[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Flagg_9783.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/EdwardWinter

A psychopathic governmental intelligence agent (read: spy) who occasionally blows through the 4077, always on the look-out for Communist subversives and so paranoidedly overzealous that the doctors took a delight in leading him headlong into disasters of his own making.

* CloudCuckoolander: Hard to believe otherwise. Likely his defense against the RedScare. He's so secretive that by his own word even ''he'' doesn't know the truth, keeping himself in a state of total confusion.
* DisguisedInDrag: If he's to be believed, at least two of his aliases are women: Captain Louise Klein and a Las Vegas showgirl.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Frank has a fanboy crush on him like Margaret does.
* {{Flanderization}}: His goofier antics showed up later in the series.
* GoKartingWithBowser: He's known to play poker with the people he sees as communist sympathizers.
* GungHolierThanThou: The TropeNamer.
* HarmlessVillain: He's more dangerous to himself than anyone else, and when Potter took charge he made it fairly clear that he tolerated Flagg's shenanigans because in the end he wasn't likely to do any actual damage to the unit or the patients.
* IHaveManyNames: His aliases include Major Brooks, Lieutenant Carter, Ensign Troy, Captain Louise Klein, Captain Goldberg, Ling Chow, Perkins, and possibly Captain Halloran.
* IncrediblyObviousTail: He is a master of this.
* IronButtmonkey: Flagg has been known to injure himself on purpose simply to make his charade convincing. Hawkeye lampshades this in an episode while referring to a previous one, saying "If we had more guys like you, we'd have less guys like you."
** Shown to a triumphant degree in one of his earliest appearances, where he wrecks the VIP Tent and himself, both on purpose to make it look like a soldier he'd let go escaped violently. It gets so absurd that at the climax of the scene, we see Flagg judging the best angle of attack before rushing headfirst into a cabinet!
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: It's implied that he uses this when given the opportunity.
** Actually shown (and out of character for Flagg, played chillingly straight) in one episode, where he tries to interrogate a recovering North Korean by bending his IV line, saying "You give me what I need, and I'll give you what you need." Radar, of all people, stops him, exclaiming "You can't just go around threatening people's blood!"
* {{Jerkass}}: He's an aggressively domineering, demeaning, arrogant boor of a man.
* MasterOfDisguise: He likes to think he is this, and gets really upset whenever anyone sees through his disguise. Still doesn't keep the others from mocking his attempts, however.
-->'''Charles:''' Oh Colonel Flagg. Sorry, I didn't recognize you without your garbage can. Don't you have a dark one for evening?
** Also:
--->'''Potter:''' Nice suit. Your clown outfit in the cleaners?
* MeaningfulName: [[UncleSamWantsYou Sam]] [[FlagDrop Flagg]] is a very fitting name for an ultra-patriotic American soldier.
* NoodleIncident: Anything he mentions usually is one of these. Apparently he was a showgirl in Vegas at the Sands for six weeks. And he's going to need that cover of Louise Klein next week in Tokyo. The MP crew that shows up in his last appearance apparently are familiar with him hunting for spies where there aren't any.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Every so often he'll remind everyone that he can actually be scary, with trying to shut down a patient's blood supply or getting sick of Hawkeye/Trapper vs. Frank/Margaret and threatening all of them with his gun.
* PatrioticFervor: He even manages to outdo Frank Burns in the jingoism department.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Puts Frank to shame with the racism, and recoils with disgust when Hawkeye does his flirty thing.
-->'''Hawkeye:''' Take me, I'm yours.
-->'''Flagg:''' I knew it you're one of ''those'' too.
* StalkerWithACrush: Even Hawkeye himself is a little weirded out by Flagg having NoSenseOfPersonalSpace and asserting he knows every move Hawkeye makes.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Hates Hawkeye more and more every passing episode he's in, until he's looking for an excuse to capture him in "Rally Around The Flagg, Boys". Hawkeye for his part is more annoyed than afraid of Flagg.
* SpySpeak: Part of his comedic act was constantly using this. He sent a telegram to his superiors - at a P.O. Box in Tijuana.
-->"Mary had a little lamb. My dog has fleas. Mairzy doats and dozy doats and I'll be home for Christmas. Your loving son, Queen Victoria."
* StealthHiBye: He ''thinks'' he's good at this but always fails miserably.
-->'''Hawkeye:''' The "wind" just broke his leg!
* SuddenNameChange: Edward Winter first appeared in Season 2's "Deal Me Out" as a CID man named Captain Halloran. It's {{Fanon}} that the character is really Flagg using [[IHaveManyNames one of his many aliases]].%%invoked
** In Season 4's "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?", Flagg encounters Sidney Freedman, telling him, "We played poker once." This further supports the theory that Flagg and Halloran are one and the same, since the latter had indeed played poker with Sidney in "Deal Me Out".
* TooKinkyToTorture: Hard to tell if it's an actual fetish, but Flagg seems extremely willing to do physical violence to himself at the slightest prompting. Over the course of the show, he purposely crashed a helicopter, broke his own arm (twice!), and bashed his head into a wooden cabinet--all in the line of duty, of course. He also mentioned that he trained himself not to laugh by poking himself with a cattleprod while watching shorts from Film/TheThreeStooges. Another intelligence officer mentioned that Flagg once drove his jeep into a wall and set himself on fire.
-->'''Hawkeye:''' If we had more men like you, we'd have less men like you.
* TragicVillain: In the words of Sidney, "you’re a victim too, Flagg, but you're such a huge example of walking fertilizer it’s hard for me to care".
* TriggerHappy: When they all hear gunfire in “Deal Me Out”, Hawkeye has to talk Flagg down from putting bullets in a patient with PTSD.
* YouLookFamiliar: Edward Winter appeared in the Season 2 episode "Deal Me Out" as Captain Halloran from the CID. Since he's a spy, Captain Halloran could have easily been Flagg in disguise; it's never confirmed, but it is lampshaded in Season 4's "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?":%%invoked
-->'''Col. Flagg:''' (to Sidney Freeman): I'm Colonel Flagg, we played poker together once.

[[folder:Rosie]]
!!Rosie
->'''Played by:''' Shizuko Hoshi (Season 3), Frances Fong (Seasons 5-6), Eileen Saki (Seasons 7-10)

The owner of a small bar situated just outside the 4077, she provided a refuge for many of its personnel away from the routine of the camp.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Rosie and her bar have been the focus of a couple episodes most notably "''A Night At Rosie's''" where Hawkeye B.J. and an increasing number of staff members end up partying.
* BarBrawl: Naturally as you can't have a bar with people occasionally getting into fights, [[NoodleIncident most of them are mentioned second hand]] but a few of the main cast have been known to get involved.
* DeadpanSnarker: She's full of quips and retorts about both her staff and her customers.
* GoodGuyBar:
* LocalHangout: The main hotspot for the staff at the 4077 besides the Officer's Club.

[[folder:Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott]]
!!Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott
[[quoteright:209:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donald2and1_3242.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:209: Margaret with Donald 1 and 2. Neither lasted long.]]

->'''Played by:''' Beeson Carroll (Season 5), Mike Henry (Season 6)

An officer from a wealthy family whom Margaret meets and falls in love with whilst on leave; the relationship is so sincere that they are eventually married, something that causes Frank Burns to have a mental breakdown. Unfortunately for Major Houlihan, the Lt. Colonel is an adulterous tightass who tries to dominate her and steals her paychecks whilst sleeping around behind her back, an abuse that eventually pushes her to the extent of divorcing him.

* BlueBlood: Apparently. Which doesn't stop him from being a tightfisted cheapskate.
* BigOlUnibrow: Hawkeye indicated that he had one, but it wasn't there in his two appearances (For that matter neither was the tattoo on his bicep that Margaret had mentioned.).
* DumbMuscle: Not the brightest guy in the army, although Margaret tries to make excuses for him. “In Love And War” calls him all hands and no brain.
* FinancialAbuse: His system with Margaret is she sends him every paycheck and in return, he sends her an allowance of thirty dollars a week (Adjusted for inflation, equal to $263.16 up to $291.26 depending on what year of the war you're adjusting for), ostensibly so they can buy their dream house after the war's over. When there's a goof up with the pay, and Margaret appeals to him for a week's advance, he refuses to give her a penny. By the way, he and his family are supposed to be rich.
* TheGhost: For nearly all of Season 5 until his appearance in "Margaret's Marriage".
* MyGirlIsNotASlut: On their honeymoon, shuts Margaret out when she's friendly with a General family friend. She pities him instead of telling him where to go.
* TheScrooge: Margaret calls him [[InsistentTerminology "conservative"]]. Everyone else calls him cheap. Doesn't help that he lies to her about where he got her rings, telling her he's still paying them off but got them for cheap in Tokyo.

[[folder:Capt. Sam Pak]]
!!Capt. Sam Pak
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sam_Pak_1737.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/PatMorita

A surgeon and ROK Army officer who's friends with the 4077 staff.

* DeadpanSnarker: His mouth was even faster than ''Hawkeye's''.
* SpecialGuest: He only appeared in two Season 2 episodes.
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Given he's supposed to be a South Korean officer.
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Mostly a case of ThrowItIn as Pat Morita would pepper his lines with Yiddish.%%invoked

[[folder:Capt. Calvin Spalding]]
!!Capt. Calvin Spalding

->'''Played by:''' Loudon Wainwright III

A singing, guitar-playing surgeon who appears in three Season 3 episodes.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He vanishes after season 3.
* DeadpanSnarker: In "Big Mac", he sings Henry and Frank the special ditty he's composed for Gen. [=MacArthur=]'s imminent visit to the 4077th, and it's a masterpiece of smart-assedry.
-->''Well, it's not Corregidor, you know, it's only Korea\\
It's a lousy little war, but we'd still love to see ya\\
And I'm sure we can scrounge up a beach\\
And you can splash in and give us a speech\\
With your corncob pipe and your five gold stars.''
* GreekChorus: He kind of serves as this.
* ShoutOut: His name clearly derives from Groucho's character in the Creator/MarxBrothers' ''Theatre/AnimalCrackers''.
* SpecialGuest

[[folder:Scully]]
!!Sgt. (later Pvt.) Jerry (later Jack) Scully

->'''Played by:''' Joshua Bryant

A front-line infantryman who turns up a few times as a potential suitor for Margaret.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Scully is a decent enough guy for the most part, but in his third and final appearance he's revealed to have ''severely'' retrograde (if not uncommon for TheFifties) notions about gender roles, which is what finally leads Margaret to break things off with him.
* RankUp: Inverted in his third and last appearance, when he's been busted down to a private for punching an officer.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: In his first appearance (in "A Night at Rosie's") he's AWOL from the front line, explaining that he "decided to go away for a little rest" after an especially intense battle.
* SergeantRock: Based on his own descriptions he fills this role.
* SuddenNameChange: His first name is "Jerry" in his first appearance and "Jack" in the other two.

[[folder:PA Announcer]]
!!The camp PA announcer
->'''Voiced by:''' Several different actors, most frequently Creator/ToddSusman or Sal Viscuso

The often heard, but never seen, person in charge of making announcements about incoming wounded, changes in schedules, and other news.

* CatchPhrase: "Attention, all personnel..."
* DeadpanSnarker: Frequently.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: He sometimes will even break the fourth wall during the credits.
* NoNameGiven: Not once are we given his name or rank.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Even he once got involved in a prank at B.J.'s expense... quickly apologizing once B.J. realized what happened, of course.
* TheVoice: Nor do we ever see him, although both Todd Susman and Sal Viscuso had onscreen appearances as different characters.

!Family of the 4077 Staff
[[folder:Dr. Daniel Pierce]]
!!Daniel Pierce M.D.
->'''Played by:''' None

The father of "Hawkeye" Pierce and the town physician for Crabapple Cove for over 40 years and the provider of his son's famous nickname.

* ActualPacifist: Despite naming his son after a famous marksman, a regressed Hawkeye in "Hawk's Nightmare" mentions Daniel not even allowing him a BB gun.
* BookDumb: Hawkeye mentions that he's a great doctor, but has no interest in actual books aside from "Last Of The Mohicans". His mom on the other hand read all the time, [[AwfulWeddedLife so she wouldn't have to talk to his dad]].
* DeathByDespair: Pissed off with being unpersoned and the army taking forever to sort out their foul up, Hawkeye rants that his dad will age a couple of years for every day he thinks Hawkeye is dead. (Hawkeye's mom clearly being dead at this point too.)
* DotingParent: Hawkeye was apparently strange even as a kid (being able to repress trauma at seven years old for example) and that his dad was always kind to him, except one time where he found Hawkeye at fourteen in bed with a girl. "Sons And Bowlers" has him gently tell his dad that he’s not ten years old anymore.
* TheGhost: The most frequently mentioned family member (as his son was effectively the main character) and yet has never been seen not even in photos or flashbacks.
* TheLostLenore: His unnamed wife died when Hawkeye was 10 and has been alone to all these years. He ''did'' try to get back into the dating game and even met a nice woman but Hawkeye didn't approve and so ended it. It was one of the biggest regrets Hawkeye has ever had seeing how lonely his father is.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In "Sons and Bowlers", Hawkeye's mom was dying, and she and his dad didn't want him to worry, so Daniel kept making him breakfast and telling him it was okay. Hawkeye was already a fragile child, and they were stuck in a shitty situation, but not getting to say goodbye to her caused an abandonment complex for the rest of his life.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: With a grain of salt as it's told through Hawkeye's perspective, but the only time the usually chill Daniel was angry was when he found Hawkeye at fourteen in bed with a girl.
* ParentsAsPeople: Hawkeye loves his dad and vice versa, but instead of telling a ten year old gently that his mother was dying and letting him see her, he kept making Hawkeye fancier breakfasts. On the one hand, gave his son a complex about never getting to say goodbye and he still doesn’t want to worry him again over sickness when Hawk's twenty years older. On the other hand, his child at seven years old was nearly drowned and already repressed the traumatic memory, it’s no wonder that a dad would think his son maybe couldn't cope.
* TheQuietOne: Hawkeye says he’s not a big talker, and teases that he only talked to his wife if there was an r in the month.
* RedOniBlueOni: Hawkeye gets riled up and spirals over anything, while according to him, if locusts set up shop in the bathtub then his dad would only send a postcard.
!!Hawkeye's mom
Hawkeye's unnamed mother, who was {{retcon}}ned to be dead in season four, but she's still mentioned a lot, as well as used in jokes.

* {{Bookworm}}: Hawkeye says she read all the time, mostly as a way of avoiding talking to his dad.
* DotingParent: Tragically, as she wanted Hawkeye to be safe, but when she's dying in hospital, Daniel (assumedly agreed upon by both) tells him she's fine and he doesn't get to say goodbye to her, causing him a lot of damage.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: From the few mentions of her alone, it seems Hawkeye got some of his already fragile mental health (comparing her to a silent soldier clinging to a cat) and liberalism (she hated the army) from her.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Hawkeye will make all the dating your parent/oedipal jokes he wants, but she was blonde, weird and protective of her child, and that hits all three of his types.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine: A sleepy muttering Hawkeye mentions her making him a costume for the school play.
* TragicKeepsake: Played for SadClown laughs, as in "The Novocaine Mutiny" (she's established to be dead at this point), Hawkeye wears her boxer shorts "so nothing will happen to him" as she was always bored while wearing them.
* WantedAGenderConformingChild: Hawkeye teases Margaret that she's the woman his mother always hoped he'd be.

[[folder:The [=McIntyre=] Family]]
!!The [=McIntyre=] Family

Trapper John's family, consisting of his wife Louise and his two daughters Kathy and Becky.

* TheGhost: They are never shown throughout the first three seasons and eventually no longer mentioned after Trapper John left the show.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lorraine Blake]]
!!Lorraine Blake
->'''Played by:''' Kathleen Hughes

Henry Blake's wife and eventual widow.

* HappierHomeMovie: She is shown in a home movie that Henry shows Hawkeye, Trapper and Radar during "Dear Dad... Three." As a gag, she tacks on a movie from when Henry was home, showing him fooling around with the neighbors.

[[folder:Col. "Howitzer Al" Houlihan]]
!!Col. Alvin "Howitzer Al" Houlihan
->'''Played by:''' Andrew Duggan

The father of Margaret Houlihan, a retired army Colonel who now works as a Civilian Military Advisor. After [[TheGhost being mentioned several times]], he finally makes an appearance in the episode ''Father's Day''.

* AfraidOfBlood: He's overcome by the massive amount of blood and chaos in the O.R. and quickly leaves which his daughter thinks is because of a disappointment in her nursing staff.
* SoProudOfYou: As he's leaving the camp, "Howitzer" orders his driver to stop so he can tell Margaret how proud he is of her and makes plans to meet in Tokyo a month later.
* UnmanlySecret: He can't stand the sight of blood and the fact he's a career army Colonel makes himself feel ashamed even more.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets called out by Colonel Potter for letting Margaret think he's leaving out of disappointment in her rather than being honest about the fact he can't stand the sight of blood.

[[folder:Louise Burns]]
!!Louise Burns
->''' Played by:''' Jeanne Schulherr

Frank Burns' wife and nurse at his private practice back home.

* AwfulWeddedLife: If their wedding film and Frank's extramarital affairs are any indication, then Frank and Louise's marriage is this.
* EmasculatedCuckold: She finds out that Frank is cheating on her in "Mail Call Again", and almost immediately demands a divorce (helped by her mother) before he lies to get her to retract it.
* MarriageOfConvenience: Frank clearly married her for her family's money.
* TheStoic: She never smiled once throughout their wedding film.

[[folder:The O'Reilly Family]]
!!Mrs. O'Reilly
->'''Played by:''' Creator/GaryBurghoff

The mother of Radar O'Reilly.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: She basically looks like Radar in drag.
!!Uncle Ed
-> '''Played by:''' None

Radar's uncle and the closet thing he had to a father-figure [[KilledOffForReal before his death]].
----
* TheGhost: He never appears throughout Radar's time in the series.

[[folder:The Klinger Clan]]
!!General

Klinger's rather large and eccentric family.

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Klinger himself is an only child but makes references to a ''huge'' number of aunts and uncles who provide a connection whenever he or the camp needs something.
* NoodleIncident: Klinger will bring up some little tale or anecdote about his family.
!!Klinger's Mother
->'''Played by:''' None

Mother of Max Klinger.

* EverybodyKnewAlready: For most of the time he was in Korea, Klinger had his mother convinced he was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey not wanting her to live with the fear he was gonna die... At least thats what he thought. He surprised to learn ''she'' knew the whole time and never let on because she [his mother] didn't want '''him''' to worry about her.
-->'''Klinger:''' ''[smiling]'' Boy I could never get one past her.
!!Uncle Abdul

->'''Played by:''' None
Klinger's uncle
\\

[[folder:Peg & Erin Hunnicutt]]
!!Peg Hunnicutt
->'''Played by:''' Catherine Bergstrom

The wife of B.J. and the mother of Erin.

* BrokenBird: Most of the time she’s treated as an idealised wife, but it comes out in "Hanky Panky" that she’s hiding a lot of anger and tears, and B.J. nudges her until she's mad enough to tell him, and "they miss a lot of dinners".
* CasualKink: For all that B.J. idealises her, there’s a few jokes that she likes to be on top, and has a healthy sexual appetite.
* EmotionSuppression: According to B.J., she bottles up everything, so he keeps nudging her until she's pissed off enough to try and hit him.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Whenever we see her she's the perfect-looking 50s housewife, although a lot of that is to fuel B.J.'s fantasy, and B.J. and Hawkeye regularly chow down on cakes she sends.
* GoGetterGirl: The 1950s was the first decade that women were allowed to be real estate agents, meaning Peg was one of the first to do so, and would have to be aggressive in her job.
* HiddenDepths: A Season 7 episode reveals she's been studying for some time to become a real estate broker.
* HopeBringer: The one thing keeping B.J. from running into the mine field is the knowledge that Peg and their daughter are waiting for him back in San Francisco.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: On occasion her letters, filled with fun anecdotes, rub B.J. the wrong way mainly because he's not there to enjoy them with her. B.J. tends to blow things out of proportion such as being upset the rain gutters needed to be cleaned and he forgot to tell her.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: B.J. gets weirdly soft with Radar because Peg loves mushy ice cream and chinese food, telling him he could have been his wife.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Accidentally sends B.J. into a drunken despair when she relays what she thinks is the amusing anecdote of Erin calling Radar "Daddy".
!!Erin Hunnicutt
->'''Played by:''' Michelle and Jennifer Scott

The daughter of B.J. and Peg, born shortly before her father was being drafted and sent to Korea.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: She rather adorably called one of her father's friends "Daddy" due to his Army Uniform not knowing the significance that it was the first time she called anyone that and it wasn't B.J..
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Many of B.J.'s most vulnerable and emotional moments comes whenever he is faced with the fact that he's missing on some of his daughters most important most moments. ''Period of Adjustment'' saw him break down upon learning that she was now walking and talking.

[[folder:Mildred Potter]]
!!Mildred Potter
->'''Played by:''' None

The longtime and patient wife of Col. Potter -- whom he married back in 1923 -- her picture sits on the right-hand side of his desk.

* SupremeChef: According to her husband, Mildred is the best cook around.

!Season 1 Characters
[[folder:Capt. "Spearchucker" Jones]]
!!Capt. Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MASH_Jones_5473.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/TimothyBrown

Originally introduced in the novel and movie as a ringer for an inter-unit football game, he vanished about midway through the show's first season, ostensibly after the network learned that there weren't any black surgeons in the theatre.
----
* AdaptationDistillation: A special case. When the first season episodes were recut for syndication to allow more time for commercials, most of Spearchucker's scenes were excised. If you've only seen the early episodes in their trimmed form, you will be surprised at how large his part is in the uncut originals.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Disappears without comment part-way through season one.
* TokenMinorityCouple: At least one episode has him dating Nurse Ginger, who - you guessed it - is also black.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Capt. "Ugly John" Black]]
!!Capt. "Ugly John" Black
[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ugly_John_2188.JPG]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JohnOrchard

Another novel/movie character seen in the show's first season, Ugly John was an anesthesiologist hailing from UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}.
----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Inverted. The book describes him [[IronicNickname as attractive]], whereas on the show he's... well, [[http://oi61.tinypic.com/2vci4ye.jpg ugly]].
* AdaptationalNationality: Ugly John was American in the novel and film.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Disappears between Seasons 1 and 2.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Maj. Sidney Freedman]]
!!Maj. Sidney Freedman
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dr_Sidney_Freedman_from_Mash_6232.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/AllanArbus

A psychiatrist assigned to the 121st EVAC Hospital in Seoul, he frequently visits the 4077 to assist on difficult cases... and to get in on the occasional poker game.

[[folder: Lt. Peggy Bigelow]]

A highly decorated general who went on a tour of the 4077th and... well, [[DeathBySex he never made it back]].

* DeathBySex: He dies of a heart attack while having a "visit" with Margaret in her tent.

* PaperThinDisguise: All it takes is a shave and a haircut along with some forged transfer orders to convince everyone he's an American surgeon with the army and not the North Korean soldier sent out on a bus less than an hour before. The only person whose really suspicious of him is Margaret ([[EvilIsPetty Frank only agreed out of petty jealously]]).

One of two new nurses that arrive at the 4077 and whom Hawkeye had a relationship with back in Med School before they "busted up" notably being the only woman he claims to have been in love with.

--->'''Carlye:''' (in surgery) Sorry.
--->'''Hawkeye:''' There's a new word in your vocabulary.

->'''Played by:''' Robert Symonds

->'''Played by:''' James Gregory

* MaidenNamedebate: Her maiden name being Emerson, Charles' name means that she likely hyphenated after marrying Charles' father.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: There were, in fact, black surgeons in Korea. Jones was based on a surgeon who left a month before Richard Hooker arrived at the 8063.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

->'''Voiced by:''' Several different actors, most frequently Todd Susman or Sal Viscuso

* NiceHat: A bright orange floppy model.

* NiceHat: His Australian bush hat.

* NiceHat: He wears an orange hunting cap.

* NiceHat: He wears a ten gallon cowboy hat (and a gun holster) all the time, hence his nickname.

* HopeBringer: The one thing keeping B.J. running into the mine field is the knowledge that Peg and their daughter are waiting for him back in San Francisco.

* CIAEvilFBIGood: Although he keeps it a little fuzzy who he works for in his first appearance, the writers eventually settled on him being CIA.

->'''Played by:''' Johnny Haymer

->'''Played by:''' Kellye Nakahara

->'''Played by:''' Allan Arbus

->'''Played by:''' Edward Winter

[[folder:Billy]]
!!Billy, whether his last name is Pierce is unknown

Hawkeye's cousin, who was six years older.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: All the adults loved him, and Hawkeye thought he was the coolest. Contrast to Hawkeye himself, who was well established to be an off-putting child.
* KnightOfCerebus: An ultimately abusive boy (with strong grooming vibes) who messed up Hawkeye so badly that he and Sidney have to talk about how, ''in a war zone'', Hawkeye's real experience with him laid him out.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Shoving Hawkeye into the water, and then blaming him for it, acting like it was his fault and baby Hawkeye thanking him for it, plays into Hawkeye's every serious relationship in adulthood. The magazines twelve year old Billy showed him as a six year old also taught him about sex.
* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: Pushes Hawkeye off the boat, drags him back up, and tells him "you'd be dead if it weren't for me".

!Season 1 Characters
[[folder:Capt. "Spearchucker" Jones]]
!!Capt. Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MASH_Jones_5473.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/TimothyBrown

Originally introduced in the novel and movie as a ringer for an inter-unit football game, he vanished about midway through the show's first season, ostensibly after the network learned that there weren't any black surgeons in the theatre.

* AdaptationDistillation: A special case. When the first season episodes were recut for syndication to allow more time for commercials, most of Spearchucker's scenes were excised. If you've only seen the early episodes in their trimmed form, you will be surprised at how large his part is in the uncut originals.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: There were, in fact, black surgeons in Korea. Jones was based on a surgeon who left a month before Richard Hooker arrived at the 8063.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Disappears without comment part-way through season one.
%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* NiceHat: A bright orange floppy model.
* TokenMinorityCouple: At least one episode has him dating Nurse Ginger, who - you guessed it - is also black.

[[folder:Capt. "Ugly John" Black]]
!!Capt. "Ugly John" Black
[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ugly_John_2188.JPG]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JohnOrchard

Another novel/movie character seen in the show's first season, Ugly John was an anesthesiologist hailing from UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Inverted. The book describes him [[IronicNickname as attractive]], whereas on the show he's... well, [[http://oi61.tinypic.com/2vci4ye.jpg ugly]].
* AdaptationalNationality: Ugly John was American in the novel and film.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Disappears between Seasons 1 and 2.
* NiceHat: His Australian bush hat.

* TheDitz: He's frequently portrayed as a mild version of this. Most notably, in one episode revolving around the celebrations of a year spent in Korea, he takes the ears of corn lovingly grown by Father Mulcahy and ''creams them'', affrontedly suggesting that next time he'll just roast them on the cob (which is what Mulcahy and the others had wanted in the first place) when he sees the Irish priest's angry disbelief. HE also washes his hands before digging latrines instead of afterwards.

* BigotWithACrush: Acts more stalkery with Hawkeye every passing episode he's in, until he's looking for an excuse to capture him, having noticed the queerness and communist tendencies, in "Rally Around The Flagg, Boys".

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Frank has a fanboy crush on him like Margaret does, and Hawkeye initially flirts until he realises Flagg is a lunatic.

* TragicVillain: In the words of Sidney, "you’re a victim too, Flagg, but you're such a huge example of walking fertilizer it’s hard for me to care". PlayedForLaughs, as taking a demented communist-hating homophobe who acts obsessed with the queer coded main character seriously wouldn’t have much laughs at all.

!Family of the 4077

[[folder: The Klinger Clan]]

[[folder: Dr. Syn Palik]]