The Mash 4077th was one of three units that had been assigned to the police action that was later to be called the Korean War. War is hell and
you did not have to look far from the men's faces to see that the statement was true. For every week that went by there at the 4077th the
men aged a month. The work was hard, and the weather was unbearable.
The hours were acceptable as long as you did not mind working fourteen to sixteen hour shifts among flowing blood and the guts and hanging
limbs of the men who had been out in the cold Korean landscape. Sometimes they wondered if it was all worth it. This was a country thousands
of miles from most of the men and women of the 4077th home. Yet each and everyday the risked their lives to save the soldiers who had been
injured. They even spent some time with the native people and had made friends with each other as time had gone by.
Today had been no exception and as Hawkeye and Trapper John headed back to the swamp that they called home, they were both very tired. As
usual there were the patients that were going to be all right and there were the patients that needed extra watching. Hawkeye had left one of
the most trusted nurses watching one of his patients very carefully. He had done some major surgery to the mans small intestines and there was
a very real danger that the man was going to need more surgery. Hawkeye had done the best that he could for the man. But the man's blood
pressure had dropped to a very dangerous level and he had not been able to bring it up. Hawkeye had done what he could and hoped that the man's
strength would come back and he would be all right. If not Hawkeye was going to have to risk further surgery.
Hawkeye and Trapper settled down into the place that they called home and went to sleep. They had both been busy for many hours and they
wanted nothing but sleep. Frank Burns was not in the mood for sleep and so he made up his mind to keep the two other men who had stopped
him from getting any rest and to have them get no sleep either. Frank banged around in his locker and moaned and groaned until Pierce
rolled over and told him "Could you be any noisier Frank?"
Frank looked over at Hawkeye and scowled "I cannot find something. Oh you guys you make me so mad" and with that he left the tent in a huff
and headed over to Major O' Houlihan's tent. He knew that there he would receive love and attention. Something that the two men that he bunked
with did not have. Burns laughed to himself thinking about his two roommates. He was going to have some fun while he was stuck in the place
that they called hell South Korea.
Neither Hawkeye or Trapper held any ill feelings toward Major O'Houlihan. She was a pretty nurse, but looks could be deceiving. She was a good
caring nurse, but she could be cold as a fish when it came to the men and women that she worked with.
Margaret was getting sick of being the dumping ground of Frank Burns. All the man did was whine. He never had anything good to say about anyone
and never thought of anyone but himself. He had been upfront with her from the start. He was married and had no intention of leaving his wife. She
was just something for him to use while he was away from them in the country of Korea.
Margaret was in charge of several nurses and all the medicine that came and went from the compound. The job was very demanding and she was
on call twenty-four hours a day. Her nurses came first in her life as did her patients. She had just gotten up that morning when there was a knock
on her tent door. Major Burns had just left and so she assumed that it was him. She called out "Come in" and was surprised to find one of her nurses
standing there in her tent.
The nurses name was JoAnn Reed. She was one of the best nurses that worked there at the 4077th. But today she had a troubled look on her face.
She asked the major "Can I talk to you please?"
"Have a seat JoAnn. How can I help you?" she asked.
"You know that Tom Ryan and I have been seeing each other steadily for the past few months. Well, it seems that during that time I have managed to
become pregnant. I am only about six weeks along and he wants to marry me." Jo Ann told her
This was a bad thing that happened to too many nurses while they were stationed so far from home. Many women would get lonely for their family and
think that they had found true love. They would become pregnant and the man would return to his home, leaving the nurse with a baby and a discharge
from the army. Once a lady got pregnant, even if she was married they were discharged. This would mean that she was going to lose a good nurse whether
or not the two people got married. "JoAnn you know what this means. I am sorry, but you will be discharged if it is true. The first thing I want to do is
to have a pregnancy test run on you. I will do the test on your morning urine myself and then we will talk about what to do. Don't worry." she told her
as she gave her a hug.
The next morning Margaret did the test and found out that JoAnn was indeed going to have a baby. She now wanted to make sure that everything with
the baby was all right. She needed to ask Hawkeye to examine JoAnn. She knew that he could be trusted to keep this a secret until everything had
been settled.
Hawkeye was looking after his patient who so far was holding his own when Major O'Houolihan approached him. "Hawkeye I need to ask you a favor.
One of my nurses has recently discovered that she is having a baby. I want you to examine her and make sure that everything is all right with the baby.
She will have to be discharged from the army if she is pregnant for absolute certainty." Margaret told him.
"Of course I will examine her and make sure that everything is going good with the baby. Who is it?" Hawkeye asked her.
"It is nurse JoAnn Reed. She says that the father wants to marry her." the major offered.
Pierce knew the two people that she mentioned and thought about how young they both were. But, Tom Ryan and the nurse both knew the dangers of
having unprotected sex and he wished them well.
To keep the examination private it was decided that Hawkeye would examine JoAnn in Major O'houlihan's tent. He examined her thoroughly and looked
at the blood work that had been taken that morning. Everything was going well and JoAnn Reed was about six weeks pregnant.
It was time for them to have Father Mulcahy. This was something that the Father specialized in. He would be the one to marry them also. JoAnn and
Tom knocked on the Father's door. Father Mulcahy was saddened by some of the things that happened to the young people who were stationed here in
the Mash 4077th. He thought that maybe this was a happy meeting. Perhaps they wanted to get married.
But there was to be more to this story there was a baby coming. Of course, he wanted to see them married. To have a child out of wedlock was not
fair to the child at all. They were young and in love. "I will be glad to marry the two of you." he told them.
When JoAnn got back to the nurses barracks and told them the news, everyone cheered. This was going to be a happy time. No one needed to know
that there was to be a baby soon. Once a nurse married, she would have to leave the army. Soon that would change, Margaret thought to herself,
but this was the fifties and women were supposed to stay home and take care of the house and children.
As soon as JoAnn left the room the nurses started planning a shower for their friend. There was so little to celebrate in their lives. Whenever, they
had something good happen it was an excuse for a party.
LT Colonel Henry Blake was in his office playing with a fishing pole when Radar came in and told him that Tom Ryan and JoAnn Reed wanted to see
him about something important. Colonel Blake knew that the two had been going out together for several months and hoped that the news was
good. Yes. they wanted to get married. He was happy for the young couple and gave his blessings. As they left holding hands they smiled and
hugged each other.
The wedding shower was held the following Saturday. There was a large cake and many small presents for the young couple. Once JoAnn was
discharged from the army she was going to go and stay in a town not too far from the unit. She wanted to stay near her husband. Ge wanted
to stay close to her so that he could make sure that everything was all right also.
Tom and JoAnn both wrote their parents to tell them about their marriage. There was no need for them to know that she was pregnant. The
mail was so slow their parents would not get the letters for weeks. They both wished that their parents could have been there, but that was not
possible.
The wedding was held in the mess tent and everyone from the Mash 4077th was there to celebrate the beginning of a new life for the couple. They
threw rice and gave them a jeep to use for their honeymoon. The two left with smiles and waves and headed to their new home.
Margaret O'Houlihan watched as the young couple leave and knew that there soon would be a new nurse for her to train. Life was forever changing
here at the 4077th and then she heard the helicopter.