As I began pulling together my thoughts of what to write about for the 5th anniversary of The M*A*S*H Historian, I can’t believe that I have been writing for this site for half a decade. The site has opened new avenues for me that I never expected or imagined, and it has allowed me to connect with people within the M*A*S*H community. After glancing over my anniversary post from last year, I was surprised by similarities between this year and last year. I have continued to highlight items from the collection, the collection continues to grow (although not as fast as before), and I continue to have great interactions with fellow M*A*S*H fans on social media and via email. The one thing that is missing from 2026 vs. 2025 is the M*A*S*H rewatch. I have watched the series more this year since I have more time to watch episodes on MeTV, but I have missed the regular watching the show that I did for my 2025 rewatch. Nevertheless, the last year of The M*A*S*H Historian has been busy for myself, the collection, and the M*A*S*H community.
In 2024 and 2025, my primary focus was to create a full inventory of the collection and my M*A*S*H rewatch to reconnect with the series. That rewatch has stuck with me because I have found a new appreciation of the series, and I think that will continue as I age. I have also spent more time with the collection. I have worked on some reorganization, upgraded some storage solutions, and I have ensured that the collection will be properly cared for and stored for future preservation. Having a degree in public history, I studied historic preservation, and there was a focus on museum and archive work. That has really benefited me as I have put the practices I learned in practice by caring for the growing M*A*S*H collection. Collecting can be a difficult hobby. Finding space to store things is never easy, but making sure those things are stored correctly (especially when the collection is filled with photographs and objects on paper) can be time consuming and expensive. But I greatly enjoy what I do because I always learn something from the objects I add to the collection.
The M*A*S*H Historian site did not really change in the last year. I have stuck with the familiar formula of weekly releases, and kept the post categories the same. That isn’t a bad thing as sticking to the formula means that I can focus more on highlighting parts of the collection and making connections. There are some posts from each category in the last year that I would like to highlight:
- Script Spotlight – Since my rewatch in 2025, I realized that there were several seasons that I had neglected with the script spotlight posts. I have tried to rectify that in the last year. I have reviewed some early and mid-series, notable episodes including: “The Incubator” (02×12), “Dear Mildred” (04×07), “Movie Tonight” (05×21), “The Party” (07×25), “Private Charles Lamb” (03×14), “Old Soldiers” (08×18), “The Nurses” (05×05), and more!
- Press Pass – The press posts can be a challenge because they often are single page press releases or a still photograph. I try to put in context why each press release was important in the 1970s and 1980s. This past year, I looked beyond M*A*S*H‘s original run and tried to cover some other materials from the collection including a 2001 press kit for the M*A*S*H DVD release, a 1994 press release for a Revell Swamp Model Kit, a collection of press releases announcing season six, a press kit celebrating M*A*S*H‘s 15th anniversary in 1987, and a press release for season five, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026.
- From the M*A*S*H Library – The M*A*S*H library posts are always fun for me because I get to read a variety of books on topics such as the history of television, an actor’s memoir, and a variety of books from the 1970s and 1980s. I began the year by looking at a few books about the history of television, including Glued to the Set: The 60 Television Shows and Events that Made Us Who we are Today, One Foot on the Floor: The Curious Evolution of Sex on Television from I Love Lucy to South Park, and Stay Tuned: Television’s Unforgettable Moments. But lately, I have been reviewing books by Peggy Herz from Scholastic Book Clubs. Partly because of my personal Scholastic connection, but also because I find children’s books to be interesting. I have written about these books most of the year, and I promise, they are about done!
- MishM*A*S*H – These posts are always fun to write because they allow me to show the depth of the collection. There are some fun licensed products in the collection including calendars, tote bags, and a pinball game. But there are also some unique items in the collection including a crew jacket, an invitation to the M*A*S*H wrap party, and a bottle of wine from the wrap party. If you want to see some wild, and unique M*A*S*H items, this is your category of posts!
- M*A*S*Hish – This is one of the most unusual categories of posts because this is where I feature items that are M*A*S*H related, but not about the show directly. There are only four of these posts a year, so it allows me to have some fun. In the last year, I have featured a Christmas ornament honoring the real 8055th MASH unit, artwork by Loretta Swit and Gary Burghoff, and an animation cel from the M*A*S*H cartoon spoof, MUSH.
Sadly, there were several losses in the M*A*S*H community in the last year. Each year we seem to be losing more and more of the cast and crew from classic shows. I’d like to briefly honor each of those members of the M*A*S*H family we have lost below:
- Bud Cort – “Private Boone” in the movie M*A*S*H
- Robert Duvall – “Major Frank Burns” in the movie M*A*S*H
- George – Jeff Maxwell’s beloved parrot
- Marica Rodd – “Captain Lorraine Anderson” in the M*A*S*H episode “Temporary Duty” (06×21)
- Gwen Farrell Adair – Gwen played several different nurses in M*A*S*H, and was featured as a nurse in the running scene of the opening credits
- Harris Katleman – former president and CEO of 20th Century Fox
- Shelley Fabres – actress and wife of Mike Farrell
- Tom Skerritt – “Duke Forrest” in the movie M*A*S*H
- Susan Saint James – “Aggie O’Shea” in the M*A*S*H episode “War Co-Respondent” (08×23)
The last year has given us many reasons to continue to celebrate within the M*A*S*H community! The series continues to air regularly across the country on TV Land and MeTV. It is also available to stream on Hulu and Disney+. I was inspired when fans of the series came together in the spring to successfully raise the money needed to replace the netting at the M*A*S*H site in Malibu Creek State Park. In 2026, we have also celebrated countless birthdays of cast and crew members including the 90th birthday of Alan Alda in January, and the 92nd birthday of Jamie Farr in July! Also, if you didn’t catch Alda’s interview on CBS Sunday Morning in October 2026, I highly recommend watching it. Of course, the community remains as strong as ever across social media and podcasts. I was a guest on an episode of the Best Care Anywhere Podcast for their rewatch of the episode “Dear Peggy” (04×10). Their podcast is fun because co-hosts Anthony (an avid fan of the show) and Ethan (watching the series fro the first time) come at M*A*S*H from very different perspectives. In addition to M*A*S*H Matters, hosted by Ryan Patrick and Jeff Maxwell, there are a number of fan rewatch podcasts that I recommend checking out (see a list on the Links page), and Alda continues to host Clear & Vivid.
As I wrap up my fifth anniversary post, I want to end, as I always do, with a big THANK YOU for continuing to read the site, for reaching out to me, and for reacting to and sharing my posts on social media. The M*A*S*H community is family! I look forward to another year of writing new posts, interacting with the community, and growing the collection to preserve the history of M*A*S*H, the greatest show ever made!
