- Hawkeye and Trapper discover that a nearby town has been shelled by U.S. forces. When they pursue the issue, the army resists accepting responsibility.
- Trapper and Hawkeye discover an inordinately large number of South Korean casualties from the village of Tae-Dong at the 4077. Together with Margaret and Frank, they were on duty and know the truth about Tae-Dong; it was an error made by the U.S. Army. But Frank refuses to sign the guys' report. Major Stoner of the Adjutant General's office travels to the 4077 to take statements and gather all of the evidence; supposedly, he is making a full report and publishing the findings in "Stars and Stripes." It takes awhile before the drunken duo realize they have been had. When Brigadier Gen. Clayton tries to smooth ruffled feathers with Army double talk, Margaret misunderstands and thinks she and Frank have been had. But, Frank did well not to sign the Tae-Dong report. Because now, the 4077 personnel have possession of the shrapnel, records and other info gathered by Frank, even though Stoner stole theirs. They hold Clayton ransom: until their story is printed in "Stars and Stripes," they will hold on to the evidence. Clayton is a pragmatic winner and loser; he knows the Army will have to take its lumps for Tae-Dong. The 4077 officers, united for a rare, brief moment, are triumphant... until the inevitable clowning begins again.—LA-Lawyer
- Hawkeye and Trapper discover that most of the patients in their latest surgery shift are from the nearby village of Tai-dong, which has just been shelled. Trapper is sure that there is no enemy artillery positions anywhere near that village. The shrapnel fragments they recover prove to be American, and they learn that the only artillery in the area is an US Army unit, the 348th. They file a report on the shelling in hopes of securing compensation for the village, ignoring Henry's warning that it may bring reprisals. Hawkeye and Trapper get all the forms needed from Radar. Since Frank was in the operating room with them, they want him to also sign the forms, but Frank refuses point blank. He is angry at both for always making fun of him and playing pranks on him.
Major Stoner (Frank Aletter) soon arrives from the Inspector General's office to look into the report. Confronted by Hawkeye's demand for an investigation, he collects the evidence (shrapnel and X-rays), promises to open a case, and departs. Meanwhile Frank and Houlihan follow Blake all over the camp, but are not able to meet Stoner. They watch Hawkeye hand over the evidence he has to Stoner. They hear Stoner say that there might be a commendation for Hawkeye in all of this. After a week and a half with no response, Hawkeye and Trapper are stunned to read an article in Stars and Stripes that blames the shelling on enemy forces.
Hawkeye angrily calls Stoner, who promises to sort out the matter (He promises justice and compensation to the people of Tai-Dong, which Hawkeye reads as total crap), and writes home to ask his father to use his connections with one of Maine's United States Senators in order to bring the truth to light. The letter is intercepted by division HQ (Hawkeye threatens to leave for Seoul and give his story to the media), and Henry puts Hawkeye under arrest and tells him that the Army has started rebuilding Taedong (new houses, new temple, town hall, roads and an ice cream parlor). However, Hawkeye is still not satisfied, as he wants the Army to admit responsibility for the shelling.
When General Clayton arrives for a visit, He says that the army is rebuilding the village and a contractor has been given a $6 M contract for the same (which Trapper says is a $2 M job). Hawkeye and Trapper tell him about their evidence, only to learn that it has vanished and Stoner has been reassigned to a post in Honolulu. Clayton urges them to drop the matter or risk being transferred to the front lines running a first aid station, because they have no proof. Meanwhile, Frank and Margaret, having misread the situation, become convinced that Pierce and McIntyre will receive commendations and steal glory from Frank. They give Clayton shell fragments and medical records on Frank's patients; faced with these new facts, Clayton promises to run a truthful account of the incident in Stars and Stripes.
In the epilogue, Radar reads a letter from home to Hawkeye during surgery. The Maine senator has just been indicted on charges of influence peddling and is facing a 20-year prison term, and Hawkeye's father is starting to regret stuffing the ballot box for him.
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