When Col. Blake Died On "M*A*S*H"
In the third season finale of “M*A*S*H,” Lt. Col. Henry Blake gets the news every soldier wants to hear: He was being discharged and rotating back to the States. The entire 4077th, thrilled for their commanding officer, throw him a jolly going-away party. Throughout the episode, the main characters share warm, happy farewells with Blake before he boards a helicopter to start the journey home to his family. Then, the next day, an emotional Cpl. Radar O’Reilly enters the operating tent. Barely audible, he delivers an official message: “Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake’s plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors.”