M*A*S*H character
Major Charles Emerson Winchester III
Charles Emerson Winchester III
Rank	Major
Gender	Male
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Blue
Home city	Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Film portrayer	None
Television portrayer	David Ogden Stiers
First appearance	"Fade Out, Fade In"

Major Charles Emerson Winchester III is a principal character on the television series, M*A*S*H, played by David Ogden Stiers. From Twentieth Century Fox Entertainment This work is copyrighted. ... Major is a military rank denoting an officer of mid-level command status. ... The shield and spear of the Roman God Mars are often used to represent the male sex In heterogamous species, male is the sex of an organism, or of a part of an organism, which typically produces smaller, mobile gametes (spermatozoa) that are able to fertilise female gametes (ova). ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 44th 10,555 mi²; 27,360 km² 183 mi; 295 km 113 mi; 182 km 13. ... M*A*S*H is a 1970 satirical American dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman, based on the novel written by Richard Hooker. ... David Ogden Stiers in his most famous role, as Charles Emerson Winchester III David Ogden Stiers (b. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Inspired by the 1970 20th Century-Fox film of the same name, M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) was an American television series about a team of medical professionals and support staff stationed at the 4077th MASH in Korea during the Korean War. ... David Ogden Stiers in his most famous role, as Charles Emerson Winchester III David Ogden Stiers (b. ...

Background

Tall, stocky, and losing his hair, Charles Emerson Winchester was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a very wealthy family of Boston "bluebloods". He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and came to work at Massachusetts General Hospital. Before he was drafted to join the US Army at the start of the Korean War, he was on track to become Chief of Thoracic Surgery. He has a sister named Honoria (pronounced on-OR-ee-uh) with a speech impediment (stuttering) and a brother Timmy who had died when Charles was a little boy. Boston is a town and small port c. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 44th 10,555 mi²; 27,360 km² 183 mi; 295 km 113 mi; 182 km 13. ... Blue (from Old High German blao shining) is one of the three primary additive colors; blue light has the shortest wavelength (about 470 nm) of the three primary colors. ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ... Main entrance of Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and biomedical research facility in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Conscript redirects here, but may also refer to artificial script. ... The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Combatants UN combatants: South Korea, United States Communist combatants: North Korea, Peoples Republic of China Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... Diagram of a tsetse fly, showing the head, thorax and abdomen The thorax is a division of an animals body, that lies between the head and the abdomen. ... Stuttering (known as stammering in parts of the UK and scientifically known as dysphemia) is a speech disorder in which the normal flow of speech is frequently disrupted by repetitions (sounds, syllables, words or phrases), pauses and prolongations that differ both in frequency and severity from those of normally fluent...

Joining the 4077th MASH

While Major Frank Burns is MIA following a trip to Seoul, the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) desperatly need a replacement surgeon to fill in. Colonel Sherman T. Potter places a call to I Corps, who subsequently places a call to Tokyo General Hospital in search of a surgeon. A colonel (Horace Baldwin), in debt to a Major Charles Emerson Winchester from cribbage, volunteers Charles for the position. The colonel reassures Charles that the duty will only be temporary until Maj. Burns returns. Major Franklin Frank Marion Burns was a character in both M*A*S*H the film and the television series. ... MIA is a three-letter acronym that is most commonly used to designate a combatant who is Missing In Action, and has not yet returned or otherwise been accounted for as either dead (KIA) or a prisoner of war (POW). ... Seoul (IPA: , (help· info)) is the capital and largest city of South Korea (Republic of Korea). ... A Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is a self-contained United States Army military unit established to perform surgery and provide post-operative care immediately behind the front lines. ... Colonel Sherman T. Potter was a fictional character from the M*A*S*H television show. ... The I Corps (First Corps), nicknamed Americas Corps, is a corps of the United States Army with headquarters in Fort Lewis, Washington. ... Tokyo ) , literally eastern capital, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and includes the highly urbanized central area formerly known as the city of Tokyo which is the heart of the Greater Tokyo Area. ... Cribbage or Crib is a card game that involves forming combinations of cards over a series of hands to accumulate points. ...

Once Winchester arrives, he finds the conditions repugnant compared to the comfortable Tokyo General. Although his arrogance makes a poor first impression, Winchester proves he is an excellent surgeon when he performs a delicate heart operation he is experienced in, but that the other doctors are unfamiliar with.

Soon after Winchester's arrival, the camp learns that Maj. Burns has been arrested after mistaking another woman for his former lover, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan. The camp, but not Winchester, further learns that Maj. Burns has been transferred back to the United States for a post at a Veterans Hospital and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Col. Potter catches Charles just as he is about to leave to return to Tokyo, and informs him that he will be assigned to the 4077th indefinitely. Charles is shocked and at first refuses, but Col. Potter threatens disciplinary action. Charles, very reluctantly, agrees to cooperate and moves into Maj. Burns' former quarters with Pierce and Hunnicutt. Major Margaret Hot Lips Houlihan was a fictional character from the M*A*S*H television show. ... In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ...

When the first major rush of wounded arrive, Winchester finds himself in over his head once he begins operating, taking three or four times as long to finish his operations as his fellow surgeons: Captain Hawkeye Pierce, Captain B.J. Hunnicutt, and Col. Potter in a medical situation where life saving operations must be performed as rapidly as possible. Winchester, his ego fully inflated, feels humiliated at any assistance to improve his efficiency and alienates himself from the rest of the camp with his arrogant, self-centered and at times cold persona. He does, however, prove to have a sense of humor and a clever wit which is not above pranks. Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce as played by Alan Alda Captain Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce was the lead fictional character of the book M*A*S*H (and sequel books) (by Richard Hooker, the pen name of Dr. H. Richard Hornberger), the film M*A*S*H and television series M... ...

Through the rest of the series

Charles at first continually fights his position with the 4077th, especially when he realizes that he lost his candidacy for Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Massachusetts General, but as time passes he more-or-less accepts the situation and settles in with the 4077th. Although initially thought of as tremendously selfish and uncaring, Charles softens somewhat as he acclimates to his new life. This comes in part from a Christmas present arranged by Radar and Fr. Mulcahy – his old tobogganing cap, sent by his mother, which he wears frequently. However, with his ego remaining fully inflated, he still distances himself from the rest of the camp to some degree and regularly retreats to his classical music as a refuge. A toboggan is a simple sled used on snow, to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill or other slope, for recreation. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ...

This change of attitude shows in acts of generosity that Charles' predecessor Maj. Burns would never have thought of. This includes such deeds as convincing a drafted concert pianist, who has given up on the future after losing dexterity in his right hand, that his musical gift lies not in the stilled hand but rather emanates from within. He finds the wounded man sheet music for pieces to be performed with only the left hand and restores the wounded man's pride and hope. Later, Winchester gives the local orphanage a large supply of candy the next Christmas, while insisting the orphanage director not tell anyone who donated it. Initially angry when he learns that the director sold the candy instead, Charles painfully accepts that the proceeds will instead feed the orphans for weeks, on staple foods. (Klinger, having learned of Charles's gesture, saves him the last of the camp's holiday fare sent from home—and tells Charles the source must remain anonymous.) Charles also befriends a wounded soldier who stutters. When Charles sees him mistreated by his CO and platoon mates, he takes the CO to one side and thoroughly chastises him. Charles encourages the soldier to pursue his natural intelligence, and gives him a treasured, leather-bound copy of Moby-Dick. (It turns out the soldier already knows the story—from a Classics Illustrated comic book adaptation.) At the end of this particular episode, as Charles listens to an audio tape sent by his sister Honoria, it is revealed that she, too, is an habitual stutterer. A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... A little dexterity is helpful in working with knitting needles Look up dexterity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ... Classics Illustrated were comic book adaptations from classic literature, a series that Russian-born Albert Lewis Kanter (1897-1973) began in 1941 for Elliot Publishing. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ...

While Winchester's faults still cause irritation, Charles eventually makes partial peace with his comrades and they count him as one of their friends. For example, when Hawkeye was anxiously awaiting word about his father, who had undergone surgery for a life-threatening condition, Charles keeps a vigil with him. He reveals to Hawkeye his envy of the close relationship Hawkeye and his father share in stark contrast to that with his own father. Charles also lent B.J. the money he and wife Peg needed for a land down-payment, when the deadline came abruptly. Winchester took his nominal second-in-command position far less seriously than Frank Burns ever had; on the rare occasions when Col. Potter was away and he had to take charge, Charles usually let the camp go through its paces, and everyone have what they wanted—as long as Charles in turn got what he wanted (usually a personal favor, or time alone). Also, in contrast to his normally posh tastes, Charles enjoyed occasional Tom and Jerry cartoons, Captain Marvel comics... and canned sardines. Tom and Jerry may refer to: Tom and Jerry are the main characters in Life in London, or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne and his elegant friend Corinthian Tom by Pierce Egan Tom and Jerry (MGM), a series of theatrical animated cartoons produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, featuring a... Captain Marvel, as a comic book character name, refers to one of several fictional characters, listed here in chronological order: Captain Marvel (DC Comics) is a superhero created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker; a young boy named Billy Batson who transforms into a man empowered with attributes of...

He was seen as a comic foil example when he took the Dodgers not blowing the 13 1/2 game lead during the 1951 season just to fall on his face during the three-game playoff, when Bobby Thomson's home run won the final game. The text below is generated by a template, which has been proposed for deletion. ...

Another example of Charles Winchester's integrity and humanity appears when Colonel Baldwin visits the 4077th on business. In the episode entitled "No Laughing Matter," Baldwin tells Winchester of his plan to get Margaret in trouble by telling the Colonel that she was making sexual advances towards him (which was a lie). Winchester refuses to go along with it, but Baldwin promises that if he played along, he would be transferred back to Tokyo General. When the time comes, Baldwin tells Colonel Potter the lie, and when Winchester is called on to corroborate, he reveals the truth, and his bottled-up anger at Baldwin for the transfer comes out. As much as Winchester wanted to go back to Tokyo, he would not smear the name of one of his co-workers by bearing false witness against her...especially not for Colonel Baldwin.

In the series finale, Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, Winchester encounters a group of five Chinese P.O.W.s who are decent musicians and share his love of music. They are being held at the 4077th and, as they are playing traditional music, Winchester furiously confronts them, explaining that he is trying to listen to Mozart on his phonograph. They then begin to play a crude rendition of Mozart's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings. Winchester delighted at the idea of being able to spend time with anyone who loves classics begins spending considerable time trying to improve upon their performance. However, Charles learns that the musicians have to be transferred in a prisoner of war exchange with the Chinese Red Army along with the rest of the captives at the 4077th. Charles pleads for them to stay, but the military officer coordinating the effort refuses to allow it. The musicians play the piece of Mozart that Charles had taught them as they are driven away. Series finale is a promotional/advertising term used to describe the final episode of a television series, usually a sitcom or a drama. ... Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen was the final episode of M*A*S*H. The episode aired on February 28, 1983 and was 2½ hours long. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... Mozart drawing by Doris Stock, 1789 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music. ... Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A (also called Clarinet Quintet in A Major) is the common name of the Mozart composition with the Köchel number of 581. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

Charles, coming out after surgery several hours later, triages one final patient from a prisoner truck accident in grave condition. He begins examining the wounds, but then recoils in horror when he sees that the patient is one of the Chinese musicians that had been swapped in the P.O.W. exchange. Charles asks the corpsman if any other prisoners had survived, but the corpsman informs Charles that the dying musician is "the only one that made it this far." Charles sadly and bitterly remarks that the dying man was not a soldier, but a musician. Typical triage tag used for emergency mass casualty decontamination. ... Hospital Corpsmen (HMs) are members of the United States Navy Hospital Corps. ...

Retreating to his tent Charles attempts to find solace in a record of "Quintet for Clarinet and Strings" but after only a few moments of listening to the song he wordlessly yanks the record off the phonograph and smashes it. The armistice to end the Korean War is signed soon after. A white flag is traditionally used to represent a truce. ...

In one of the final scenes, Charles announces: "I've just discovered that I will be head of Thoracic Surgery at Boston Mercy Hospital. My life will go on as expected—with one exception. For me, music had always been a refuge from this miserable experience. Now it will always be a reminder."

With the 4077th packing up and the personnel moving out to return home, Charles leaves the camp with Sgt. Rizzo in the last remaining vehicle: a garbage truck. When Rizzo pulls up in the truck, he says "I hope you don't mind riding in a garbage truck, 'cause it's the last vehicle I got.", to which Winchester replies "Not at all. What better way to leave a garbage dump!"

Related links

• M*A*S*H (TV series)

Inspired by the 1970 20th Century-Fox film of the same name, M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) was an American television series about a team of medical professionals and support staff stationed at the 4077th MASH in Korea during the Korean War. ...

External links

• Major Winchester's Unofficial Web Site - Charles Emerson Winchester III's own website
• Finest-Kind.net - M*A*S*H website with character profile
• Best Care Anywhere - M*A*S*H website with character profile