The Loner
Note and Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and plots of M*A*S*H. This is the third story in a new series titled "By the Graveside". Enjoy!
It had taken him three years to visit this graveside, the one of the man he knew for a short time and yet had a huge impact on his life while serving in Korea. For this man they call the loner, Henry Blake was an officer who did not care what color your skin was. Just as long as you did your job and you did it well, Henry was appreciative. He treated everyone equally.
And that kind of management earned Henry Blake a lot of respect.
For the loner, it took a lot of guts and determination to get to where he was now. From the ever-present segregated grade schools to growing up poor, he had to push past the conventional labels and the economic surroundings rooted deep. He became the first in his family to graduate high school. He created a football career to get through medical school, eventually becoming more known for his killer moves on the field than in the OR, where his specialty was neurosurgery.
He had not known of any other black doctor except the poorly educated ones at home. His explicit expertise made him unique amongst those in the medical field. Being in the south was worse. He watched his back constantly. He stuck with his own kind, choosing to treat those with no choice and no opportunity. That made him all the more alone.
However, that medical skill was soon called elsewhere. Drafted, he was sent to Korea. Originally stationed at the 72nd Evac Hospital, he soon made his acquaintance with Hawkeye Pierce. Although wary of a white man extending a hand in friendship, he soon was enjoying drunken nights full of poker and nurses. The two weeks before Hawkeye's transfer to the 4077th had been the most fun the loner had in ages. He began to trust white people again and not feel like he was an single island in the ocean.
A month later, he was sent to the same unit on request of Henry Blake (with some help from Hawkeye). It was better at the 4077th. Settling in what was called the Swamp, he found another kindred spirit in the other settler, Trapper McIntyre. While their last roomie, a Regular Army officer named Frank Burns, did not fit the mixture, the three still caused enough mischief to make old Henry's head spin.
Even so, the loner still felt like he was a fish out of the water. He was the only black man in the camp (with one black nurse he fancied) and the most talented in neurosurgery too, despite the wonders the other doctors had up their sleeves. He wasn't a regular surgeon like the rest of the company, but that did not matter to the commanding officer. Henry Blake took the loner by the hand and encouraged him to keep trying if there were no brain patients and guided him when he needed the help. He was an equal amongst men, risen higher by the words this man told the loner.
What the loner always remembered best about Henry was his kindness and generosity. While without a spine and led on a merry dance most of the time, Henry Blake always had a way of making anybody feel welcome. He yelled at the loner as much as Hawkeye and Trapper. He divvied up the work the same way. When Frank Burns was putting his two cents in about menial work, Henry had to remind Frank that we were all for one and one for all. Everybody had to put in their fair share and nobody was allowed to be demoted on his watch. Not at all.
And that was what the loner appreciated most of all. Nobody was going to be segregated and discriminated under Henry's command. While Hawkeye had been the first to forget what color their skin was and Trapper the one to include the loner into all of their schemes, it was Henry that carried the title of defender. He was Trapper and Hawkeye rolled into one and with the power to put his foot down and demand esteem for all life, no matter who they were or where they came from. This also applied to all LIP and the enemy too.
While his tenure in Korea did not last as long as the others, the loner always felt his stomach being punched each time he thought back to the moment when Henry told him of his unfair transfer. He sat the loner down in his office, just the two of them, explaining why it happened and how he softened the blow, before announcing his new duty station at the 121st Evac. This unit was a stepping-stone and the most influential, a place where the loner had a chance in moving up through the ranks. It had been better than being sent to the front, where the loner was supposed to be…and all because of Frank Burns.
It still made him a loner, but one without the chains of his past following behind him. With Henry Blake's influence, he had been set free.
Oliver Wendell "Speakchucker" Jones touched the gravestone gently. Because of Henry, he no longer had to watch for shadows. He had long since achieved a better life because of this man, married a nurse he met in Korea and settled down to a wonderful career and a family. He was sad because this man was long gone, but glad to have had been touched when he was alive.
Spearchucker would not walk away crying. He smiled broadly in joy. Henry Blake lived a good life. It was time to celebrate it.