Chapter 2: The day after the night before
By mid-morning the next day, the Turkish casualties were ready to be sent back to their unit. The only patient that was left was the soldier who had been slashed in the side. His recovery would obviously take longer than the others.
It was now the afternoon and Hawkeye and BJ were in the Swamp, engaging in an after-lunch martini. Winchester, who had been unable to retrieve his precious fan from his CO, was sulking in the background. He decided to get revenge by playing one of his classical records, which he knew they both detested.
They were abruptly interrupted by the presence of Radar, who seemed to be in a rather worried state.
"Sirs!" he exclaimed loudly, as he came blundering into the Swamp. "Somethin' terrible has happened – you've gotta come quick!"
"What's the matter, Radar?" asked Hawkeye. "Has my weekly Nudist magazine not been delivered again?"
But Radar was already running back out into the compound. Hawkeye and BJ swiftly followed behind, eager to help their young, flustered friend. The Major's curiosity also got the better of him and he hurried out after them, wondering what all the fuss was about.
They were surprised to see two Turkish soldiers getting out of a jeep, one of which was carrying a young deer. The other Turk, bearing sergeant stripes on his sleeve, stepped forward and saluted the three officers.
"This is Sergeant Yilmaz and Private Sadik," said Radar.
"Ah!" said BJ. "You must be kin-folk of Corporal Osman?"
"I come to make sure he is okay," replied Sergeant Yilmaz. But first, I ask you, please, if you can help with another one of our comrades."
He gestured towards the deer, which was still being lovingly held by Private Sadik, as if it was some kind of cherished treasure.
"It's his leg," continued the Sergeant. "We find him all tangled up in some barbed wire on the way here. You can help, yes?"
Hawkeye and BJ looked at one another, slightly bemused by the request, wondering why they should be so concerned about the hurt animal.
"It's their lucky mascot," explained Radar, as if he had read their minds.
"Lucky!" huffed Winchester. "The only luck such a culinary delight could bring, would be if it were to be served up as pan-seared venison, smothered in a blackberry and shallot red wine sauce, accompanied by a bottle of Rioja!"
Being somewhat of an animal lover, Radar's eyes opened wide in alarm at the Major's words. The Turkish soldiers also looked at the Major with a fierce grimace.
"Have a heart, Charles," said BJ, as he went over to examine the deer. Private Sadik obligingly put him on the ground, so that the doctor could get a closer look at his injuries. Most of the damage was to the back leg. The cruel barbed wire had torn part of the flesh to shreds and had left a raw, gaping wound. There were also several scratches and grazes on the rest of his body. The deer whimpered slightly at BJ's gentle touch, but remained calm and docile. He was obviously used to human contact as he nuzzled amiably against BJ's hand.
"Well, we need to clean him up and that back leg will need stitching," said BJ, as he petted the deer on the head. "But I don't see why he shouldn't be up and running again in a few days."
"Surely you jest, Hunnicutt!" scoffed Winchester. "Do I look like Dr Dolittle? I'm afraid I don't operate on anything that has feathers, gills or walks on more than two legs!"
"Don't mind him," said Hawkeye to the soldiers. "He suffers with an incurable lack of kindness and compassion."
The soldiers beamed back gratefully at Hawkeye.
"You won't be sorry, Captain," said Sergeant Yilmaz, as he bent down and scooped up the animal into his arms. "Our little Bambi will bring you good luck whilst he is here."
Winchester raised an amused eyebrow at the mention of the name. The deer's upper canine teeth formed long, slightly curved tusks. A more fitting name would probably have been Fang rather than the cute name taken from the Disney film!
"Bambi?" he repeated. "No doubt we will soon get acquainted with his chums Thumper and Flower! Well, I think I'll leave you all to this little fairytale. Gentlemen!"
With that he sauntered back to the Swamp, his shoulders shaking up and down as he sniggered to himself.
"Radar, take Bambi to the stables," said BJ. "I'm just going to get a few things from OR."
"OK, BJ," replied Radar, earnestly. He led the men to the stables and Sergeant Yilmaz laid Bambi gently on the hay. The Colonel's horse, Sophie, was in her paddock. She lifted her head up nervously at the unexpected visitors. But after some soft words and a handful of straw from Radar, she settled down again.
"So how did you end up having a deer for a mascot?" enquired Hawkeye.
"He wandered into our camp when he was just a few weeks old," said Sergeant Yilmaz. "There was no sign of his mama. He was weak and skinny, but we soon fattened him up. When he got better he just sort of kept hanging around. Sometimes he would disappear – like the other night – but he would always come back and find us. Even if we moved location."
"And does he really bring you good luck?" asked Radar.
"You betcha boots!" said Private Sadik. "It's hard to explain, but ever since we found him we have mostly good fortune in the camp."
"Wow!" infused Radar, looking at Bambi, with an awe-struck expression on his face. Hawkeye chuckled to himself at his innocent gullibility.
"But when he is not with us, terrible tragedies happen," continued the Private, sadly.
There was an uncomfortable silence as the Turks were obviously remembering the disastrous events of the night-time attack. The silence was finally broken by BJ, who entered the stables with a surgical tray, a couple of aprons, clean dressings and some ketamine and xylazine to administer a mild anaesthetic.
Hawkeye held the deer steady, stroking the deer's golden brown coat, while BJ carefully injected the solution. The Turks hovered anxiously over their shoulders, watching every move the doctors made with a fastidious eye.
"Radar," said Hawkeye, their presence beginning to get on his nerves. "Why don't you take our guests over to Post-Op to see Corporal Osman?"
The two Turks took the hint and hesitantly stood up to comply with the Captain's orders.
"Don't worry," said Radar, in an encouraging voice, as he ushered them out of the stables. "Our doctors are the best in the whole of Korea!"
BJ gave Hawkeye a wry smile.
"Something tells me we better not mess this up," he said, apprehensively. "Otherwise we're going to have a bunch of angry Turks baying for our blood!"
Hawkeye nodded in acknowledgement. They both looked down at their fragile, precious patient, as they waited for the anaesthetic to kick in. The bright eyes that stared back had an almost trusting, human quality to them. He held their gaze until finally the sedation made his eyelids close and his head slowly drooped to one side.
Hawkeye took a deep breath.
"Well, here goes!" he said.
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Bambi stayed with the 4077th M*A*S*H for a couple of weeks whilst he recovered from his injury. There would be a scar and a bald patch on his hind leg where BJ and Hawkeye had cleaned the wound and stitched him up. But apart from that, the little buck made excellent progress.
He was an instant hit with everyone in the camp. Indeed, he seemed to enjoy all the attention. Even Major Winchester warmed to the animal and was often seen giving him little titbits to eat.
The Turks were delighted with their mascot's recovery. When they came back to visit Corporal Osman, they brought food and Turkish liqueurs for BJ and Hawkeye, as a thank-you for all their help.
As Bambi regained his confidence, he started to venture out into his new surroundings. He was a bit shaky at first, returning to camp in between his short excursions. Eventually, as his leg got stronger, the camp saw less and less of him. Finally the day came when he didn't return and it was assumed he had found his way back to the Turkish unit.
Tragically, the camp learned, a few days later, that Bambi had been hit by a vehicle and had died instantly. The news came as a great to shock to everyone, as they had all become very fond of the little deer. The camp strangely seemed a much sadder place without him.