I served in Vietnam. The film M*A*S*H and the TV show too were built on truth, as well as laugh tracks. It is uncanny how each time I see the movie and episodes of the TV show--admittedly set in Korea--I say, "THAT's the Army I knew." I admit the movie was much more powerful and truthful, but the TV show was masterful too. When we were shown the movie in Nam, right after its release, we marveled at how close it came to the reality we knew and that we saw around us (especially in the hospitals). I guess you had to be there. The movie and Hooker's novel should be must-seen and must-read by every Catholic proclaiming expertise in war and what goes on because of it.