Prop from M*A*S*H, 1972–83. Following the series finale of M*A*S*H, the Emmy-winning television show depicting a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War, the National Museum of American History collected props and two sets—the “Swamp” and the “O.R.”—the most extensive documentation of a television program undertaken by the museum. Because many of the show’s props were authentic to the period, they entered the collections not just as popular culture but also as military and medical artifacts of the Korean War. A special exhibition, M*A*S*H: Binding Up the Wounds, opened in July 1983 and drew record crowds. (photo credit col3.1)