A principal character of the series, where between long sessions of treating wounded patients, he is found making wisecracks, drinking heavily, carousing, womanizing, and pulling pranks on the people around him, especially Frank Burns and "Hot Lips" Houlihan.

After completing his medical residency (possibly in Chicago; he has a familiarity with the city that implies extended time spent there, e.g., "Adam's Ribs"); he had a common law marriage with a nurse, Carlye Breslin, but they broke up after a year.

Trapper spends much of his time on the series engaging in mischief with Hawkeye Pierce, with the two playing practical jokes on Majors Frank Burns and Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, heavy drinking, and trying to seduce women.

This frustrated Rogers, and in combination with a dispute over the terms of the original five-year contract, he quit the show shortly before production of the fourth season began; the character of Trapper was abruptly discharged from the Army and sent back to the United States.

He describes his wife in unflattering terms, having very expensive false teeth, varicose veins, a fistful of credit cards, looking like Frank Burns in drag, and that he only married her because she was a good cook.

In a letter to his father, Hawkeye Pierce describes Henry's lack of leadership ability: "As a commanding officer, it's like being on a sinking liner, running to the bridge, and finding out the captain is Daffy Duck.

Despite his stern military bearing, Potter is a relatively relaxed and laid-back commander, not above involving himself in camp hijinks and understanding the need for fun and games to boost morale during wartime, particularly in the high-pressure atmosphere of a MASH.

When Hawkeye and B. J. invite Potter to their tent for a post-surgery drink just after his assuming command, he is very affable and complimentary of their brewing skills, even giving them tips on how to improve their gin still and get a higher yield of alcohol.

In addition, Potter, who had been managing administrative work before his assignment to the 4077th with the asset of knowing many of his superiors as personal acquaintances, possesses formidable skills as a surgeon and for keeping morale high in the operating room.

Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Franklin Delano Marion "Frank" Burns is the executive officer and main antagonist in the film (played by Robert Duvall) and the first five seasons of the television series (Larry Linville).

In the TV series, though by military rank Burns is second-in-command of the unit, he is in fact outranked in medical matters by Hawkeye, who reluctantly accepts appointment by Colonel Blake as Chief Surgeon.

Burns claims that he was performing superior work, even going so far as to donate blood to a critically wounded soldier in between treating patients and completing the Last Rites benediction in Latin for the deceased after Father Mulcahy passed out from exhaustion.

His wife eventually learns of the affair and threatens him with divorce; he denies it, describing Houlihan as an "old warhorse" and an "army mule with bosoms",[38] beginning a rift that leads to her engagement to Donald Penobscott, a handsome lieutenant colonel stationed in Tokyo.

However, in the William E. Butterworth MASH Goes To ... books, reference was made to Burns being involved with the Tonsils, Adenoids, and Vas Deferens Society, a group that promotes tonsillectomies and vasectomies for large fees.

The series implies she is ethnic Irish: In the pilot episode Blake refers to her by her full name as O'Houlihan; while Colonel Potter remarks that she comes from a race that likes to settle arguments with their fists ("Souvenirs").

[65] In another episode, Colonel Potter was passionately kissed by Margaret after granting her a 72 hour leave to visit her husband in Tokyo; when she turned him loose, he said, "Do you know what I like about a nurse with hot lips?

In one early episode ["Hot Lips and Empty Arms"] she is very angry at herself when she finds her college roommate has a dream marriage with a rich doctor, children, a great house, a swimming pool, and a washing machine - all of which could have been hers.

Winchester's commanding officer in Tokyo, Colonel Horace Baldwin (Robert Symonds), transferred him to the 4077th on temporary duty in retaliation for the major's gloating attitude about beating him at cribbage for $672.17 (equivalent to about $7,130 in 2022).

When Radar places a hidden microphone inside Hot Lips's tent as she and Frank Burns have sex, members of the camp listen in, and Mulcahy at first mistakes their conversation (and noises) for an episode of The Bickersons, leaving abruptly when he realizes otherwise.

This is despite being told by Cardinal Reardon, a prelate visiting Korea to evaluate the effectiveness of the chaplains serving there, that "you're a tough act to follow" after listening to his sermon concerning a soldier diagnosed with leukemia, at that time a death sentence.

[90] This leads him to periodically prove himself, such as volunteering for a dangerous mission to demonstrate his courage to a soldier who had shot himself in the foot to get out of combat duty ("Mulcahy's War"), and putting himself in harm's way to retrieve or negotiate for medical supplies ("Tea and Empathy", "Out of Gas").

Prior to his promotion, in an effort to prove he is worth as much as any of the surgeons or nurses, Chaplain Mulcahy volunteered to serve as the counterweight for an intrepid chopper pilot sent to pick up a soldier with a head wound who needs immediate surgery (the H-13 Sioux helicopters used by the Army could not fly safely unless both stretchers were loaded).

This is demonstrated in his agreeing to perform Protestant church services for Colonel Potter ("Change of Command"), offering a prayer in Hebrew for a wounded Jewish soldier ("Cowboy"), and explaining the rituals of a Buddhist wedding to other attendees from the camp ("Ping Pong").

[94] Among the characters Klinger has tried to dress up as include The Statue of Liberty, Moses, Zoltan King of the Gypsies, Cleopatra, Snow White, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind; a ballerina, a U.S. Army female nurse, a 1920s flapper, a nun, two Korean women and a bride.

Series writer Larry Gelbart stated during the M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion special that Klinger's antics were inspired by stories of Lenny Bruce attempting to dodge his military service by dressing himself as a U.S. Navy WAVE.

In the final episodes of the series, Klinger gets engaged to Soon Lee Han (Rosalind Chao), a Korean refugee; when proposing to her, he suggests she wear the wedding dress he had himself worn in one of his attempted Section Eight escapades and explains to her what white means in his culture.

However, she faced racial discrimination and he turned to bookmaking, and is only able to escape prison time when Sherman Potter offers a character reference and hires him as his assistant at the veterans' hospital in Missouri where he now works.

In the film, when it is proposed that Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones will bunk with the other surgeons in the Swamp, Duke treats him with disrespect (implied to be because of his Southern heritage), until Hawkeye and Trapper rebuke him.

He had harsh words with Winchester when the latter, acting as motor pool officer, required him to completely disassemble a jeep's engine and lay it out on white sheets, for no good reason that Rizzo could see.

To raise funds, Trapper grows a beard, poses as Jesus Christ (complete with a cross mounted on a jeep or hanging from a helicopter), and autographs thousands of photos which the Swampmen sell for a dollar apiece.