‘M*A*S*H’s Most Shocking Episode Aired 50 Years Ago

On the March 18, 1975, episode of M*A*S*H, Radar (Gary Burghoff) delivered two stunning messages. The first one, at the start of the show, was that Lt. Col. Henry Blake’s (McLean Stevenson) discharge orders arrived and the affable CO of the 4077th would be heading home to Illinois by way of Tokyo-Honolulu-San Francisco.

The last one, that “Lt. Col. Henry Blake’s plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors,” remains one of TV’s most shocking, haunting moments.