Sometimes You Hear the Bullet

Infobox Television episode
Title = Sometimes You Hear the Bullet
Series = M*A*S*H


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 17
Airdate = January 28, 1973
Production = J318
Writer = Carl Kleinschmitt
Director = William Wiard
Guests = Ron Howard

James T. Callahan

Fred Lerner

Lynette Mettey
Episode list = List of "M*A*S*H" episodes
Prev = The Ringbanger
Next = Dear Dad...Again

"Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" was episode seventeen of the first season of the TV series "M*A*S*H". It originally aired on January 28, 1973.

This was the first episode in which the medical staff failed to save a wounded soldier, and one of the first episodes of the series that showed a member of the hospital staff truly affected by death.

Hawkeye's old friend Tommy appears at the 4077th. He is a soldier working on a book about life on the front lines called "You Never Hear the Bullet." The book is intended to show how death in battle can be sudden and not surrounded by any prior drama, as it often is in the movies. Later in the episode, Tommy himself shows up as a casualty on the operating table, having been shot by the enemy on the front lines. Just before being anesthetized, he weakly tells Hawkeye that he in fact had heard a bullet ricochet just before being hit, just like in the movies. Hawkeye, close to tears, suggests that "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" is a better title anyway. Tommy dies moments later.

Later we see Hawkeye crying and Lt. Col. Blake trying to console him.

In the same episode, a young soldier is discovered to be underage and using his brother's ID. He has come to Korea in order to impress his girlfriend. Hawkeye first gives the young soldier some sage advice about women and then essentially lets him decide for himself whether he wants to go back to the States or stay in Korea. After losing Tommy, however, Hawkeye immediately reports the young soldier to the MPs, sending him back to America and to safety-with the Purple Heart Frank Burns put in for after his back pain.

Quotes

Hawkeye: "I've watched guys die every day. Why didn't I ever cry for them?
Col. Blake: "Because you're a doctor."
Hawkeye: "What the hell does that mean?"
Col. Blake: "...I don't know. If I had the answer I'd be at the Mayo Clinic. Does this look like the Mayo Clinic? Look, all I know is what they told me at command school. There are certain rules about a war. And rule number one is 'Young men die.' And rule number two is ...'Doctors can't change rule number one.'"
Hawkeye: "You believe that?"
Col. Blake: "I don't know."

Walter/Wendell: "I'm never gonna forgive you for this, not for the rest of my life!"
Hawkeye: "Let's hope it's a long and healthy hate."

Trivia

*This is generally considered to be a landmark episode in the series, as it constitutes the first time that any of the characters personally experiences the tragedy of war. From this point on, M*A*S*H* would no longer be exclusively comedic all the time.
* Ron Howard, then between his roles on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, played the young soldier. This is an extremely rare instance in which Hawkeye adheres to US Army Regulations. Ironically although the character was 15 years old, Ron Howard was 18 -- and thus old enough for the draft.

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