What is your favorite military TV show? Mine was M*A*S*H*.

  “Major Dad” and “Tour of Duty” were both hokey and purely Hollywood (as in no semblance whatsoever to actual military life), but I had an affinity to the former for its US Marine Corps connection and marginally funny moments, while the latter had interesting storylines and sort of/kind of/almost aimed for a modicum of realism. 

  I was an ardent fan of “M*A*S*H” prior to joining the Marine Corps, but my perspective quickly and thoroughly changed after I joined. I then saw it as an unbearably unwatchable liberal platform. 

  When I was a young kid, I sort of liked “Gomer Pyle, USMC”, but once again, after having joined the USMC myself, it was a complete embarrassment. I learned that due to its years on the air (1964 to 1969), which were the years that the Vietnam War began escalating more rapidly as time went by, a clandestine coalition of Hollywood elite, big business, and the US federal government conspired to use inflated “ratings” to give the appearance of public acceptance of the show as a way to offset anti-war and anti-government sentiment. Some of the reasons the show was so dopey were an attempt to downplay the “hawk” image of the military, to pretend that no US servicemen and servicewomen were locked in deadly combat in foreign lands (absence of battle scenes, lack of mention of the war, no wounded or dead were ever shown, no overseas deployment was ever part of the plots), to bridge the generation gap in a way that showed youth and innocence as overcoming rough-and-tumble establishment types in a goofy yet respectful way, to present a relatable “loveable” guy who was both harmless and had a heart, etc. Military veterans despised the show for its silliness in making a laughingstock of serving the country and perpetuating stereotypes. Actual ratings may have been skewered in a propaganda-driven move to lull the masses. 

  Other such TV shows with military themes were similarly propped up: “McHale’s Navy” 1962 to 1966; “Hogan’s Heroes” 1965 to 1971; “F Troop” 1965 to 1966.

  The big screen was also roped into the fray, most notably the 1966 blockbuster, “The Green Berets”.

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  While not a favorite of mine, an honorable mention is “The Phil Silvers Show” (informally called The Sergeant Bilko Show), 1955 to 1959. I only saw it in reruns.
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