Hawkeye Pierce

Lore & Background

Hawkeye was born and raised in New England, often citing Crabapple Cove, Maine, as his family's summer home. His father, Daniel Pierce, graduated medical school in 1912 and settled there. Hawkeye received his nickname from The Last of the Mohicans, the only book his father ever read. His lifelong claustrophobia originated from being trapped in a collapsed foxhole during the war. As an adult, he interfered with his father's engagement to a woman named Mildred, not as a child. He attended Androscoggin College, where he was non-athletic, unlike his literary counterpart who played football. Before the war, he had a relationship with nurse Carlye Breslin, but they were not married. Drafted in 1950, he specialized in cardiothoracic surgery, allowing him to become Chief Surgeon over Major Burns. He refuses military red tape, rarely wearing rank insignia or polishing his boots, and often wears a bathrobe instead of uniform. Despite being entitled to numerous decorations like the Purple Heart and Legion of Merit, he never displays them.

In Their Own Story

In the series finale "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," Hawkeye suffers a mental breakdown after a Korean woman suffocates her infant to silence it from enemy soldiers. He initially claims she killed a chicken until Dr. Sidney Freedman helps him admit the repressed memory of the mother smothering her baby. Earlier in the series, he is mistakenly reported dead and boards a Quartermaster bus with corpses, admitting his exhaustion with seeing death daily. When ordered to carry a sidearm on a trip to a ROK aid station, he tells the gun "You're fired" before firing it into the air during an ambush rather than at attackers. Upon the Korean Armistice Agreement announcement, he plans to return to Crabapple Cove as a local doctor, avoiding the endless flow of casualties. In reality, his emotional toll would likely have resulted in a Section 8 discharge after serving at least two years.

Reader's Guide

Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce serves as Chief Surgeon at the 4077th M*A*S*H unit from early Season 1 onward. Portrayed by Alan Alda, he is known for his disdain of military protocol, often refusing to wear rank insignia or carry a sidearm. He drinks heavily—three times more than average daily—and favors 12-year-old Scotch and Seagrams Canadian whisky. His medical expertise in cardiothoracic surgery distinguishes him from other officers. He assumes temporary command when Colonels Blake or Potter are absent. While he clashes with authority, he maintains deep respect for his patients and fellow staff. In the novel, he acts as a moral center chiding Trapper John, but in the series, he is a bachelor ladies' man who once faked marriage to "Vanessa Pierce" in episode 1/23 "Ceasefire." His journey concludes with a return home to Maine, depicted in the sequels M*A*S*H Goes to Maine and M*A*S*H Mania.

Did You Know?

• Alan Alda is the only actor to appear in all 256 episodes of the television series.
• Hawkeye's nickname comes from The Last of the Mohicans, described as "the only book my old man ever read."
• In the episode "Bottle Fatigue," Klinger decides to buy stock in Seagrams due to Hawkeye's heavy consumption of their Canadian whisky.
• Hawkeye became Chief Surgeon because he specialized in cardiothoracic surgery, whereas Major Burns was only qualified in general surgery.
• In the series finale, Hawkeye admits to Dr. Sidney Freedman that a Korean woman smothered her own baby, a memory he had repressed.