Obituary for Dr. Dale W. Drake Dr. Dale W. Drake, 92, died on June 5, 2018 at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Evansville. Dr. Drake was an anesthesiologist whose experiences and service at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in South Korea contributed to the background and provided the inspiration for the novel, movie, and long-running TV series M*A*S*H. Dale Wilfred Drake was born on September 10, 1925 in Dorset, Ohio, the third of five children of Homer and Helen (Sparling) Drake, The family later moved to Oklahoma where his father had accepted a teaching position.
After high school, Dale attended Northeastern State College and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. After completing basic training at Fort Benning, GA, he resumed his studies at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine graduating in 1948 at the age of 22. He completed his internship at St. John’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma and residency in anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota in 1951.
Dale was practicing anesthesia in Arkansas when he received orders from the Far East Command and was assigned to the 8055 MASH unit in South Korea. It was there he met First Lt. Margaret Catherine (“Cathy”) McDonough, an army nurse who arrived at the 8055th a few months prior and would later become his wife of 65 years.
A few months later, Cathy returned to the states for an assignment at Walter Reed Hospital, while Dale remained in South Korea for another year. They were reunited in Washington DC where they were married on June 6, 1953. Soon thereafter, they moved to Philadelphia where Dale had accepted a position teaching anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
It was there that Dale and Cathy reconnected with a mutual friend from Evansville who suggested that Dale consider establishing a practice at one of the hospitals there. A few months later, Dale and Cathy had made Evansville their new home, as Dale accepted a position at St. Mary’s Hospital (now St. Vincent’s Evansville), where he was ultimately named Chief of Anesthesia and where he practiced until 1985. He continued to practice at the Evansville Surgery Center until his retirement in1997.
The M*A*S*H phenomena originated about fifteen years after the Korean War during a visit by Dale and Cathy to the Maine home of Dr. Richard Hornberger, a thoracic surgeon who also served with them in South Korea at the 8055 MASH unit. Unknown to Dale and Cathy at the time of their visit, Dr. Hornberger had begun compiling a fictionalized collection of stories based on the experiences of his fellow doctors and nurses at the 8055 MASH unit. He later cited this evening of reminiscing and storytelling with Dale and Cathy as providing the impetus for him to finish his manuscript.
The resulting book, published in 1968 under his pen name Richard Hooker as M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, was soon followed by the 1970 Robert Altman film, M*A*S*H, and the TV series M*A*S*H, which ran from 1972 to 1983. In these fictionalized accounts, the 8055 became known as the 4077, and the Hawkeye Pierce character was largely based on Dr. Hornberger’s experiences. Dale’s experiences were represented by the Ugly John Black (the “gas passer”) character featured in the book, movie, and the first season of the TV series.
Throughout the run of the TV series, Dale and Cathy were frequently consulted by the show’s co-creator, Gene Reynolds, and many of their recollections and details shared with him contributed to the show’s authenticity and story lines of several episodes. Dale and Cathy were also prominently featured in The Real M*A*S*H, a 2010 documentary by Toronto based filmmaker Min Sook Lee that examines how the real-life experiences of several doctors and nurses that served in MASH units in South Korea compared to what was portrayed in the Robert Altman film and the television series. Dale was Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia and Chairman of the Creditation of Physicians at St. Vincent’s Evansville and was an instructor of Indiana University School of Medicine medical students.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Vanderburgh County Medical Society, and the Evansville Kennel Club. Dale was a passionate fan of Oklahoma Sooners football, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Mater Dei Wildcats. He enjoyed thoroughbred horse racing, maintaining a box at Ellis Park for many years and well into his retirement.
He and Cathy attended the Kentucky Derby on many occasions, as well as other racetracks across the country. He was also an avid crossword puzzle devotee who never seemed to encounter a puzzle he could not solve. In addition to his wife, Cathy, Dale is survived by his three children, Dr. Michael Drake and his wife, Nancy Tarsitano, of Evansville, Susan Wolf and her husband, Jerry, of Westfield, IN, and Erin Born and her husband, Rick, of Gonzales, LA; seven grandchildren, Patrick (Lindsay) Drake of Webster Grove, MO, John (Erika) Drake of Brentwood, MO, Brian (Meleana) Wolf of Honolulu, HI, Alex (Kelsey) Wolf of Chagrin Falls, OH, Maggie (Patrick) Murphy of Keller, TX, Andrew (Catherine) Born of Indianapolis, IN, and Mollie Born of St. Louis, MO; six great-grandchildren, Lila Drake, Oscar Drake, Otto Drake, Maeve Murphy, Whitman Wolf, and Brigid Murphy.
Dale was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Edward and James, his sisters Ramona Kramer and Jane Calloway, and a nephew, Dennis Dale Kramer Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, 2018, at Ziemer Funeral Home Central Chapel, 626 North First Ave. Evansville, IN 47710 and will continue Friday, June 8, 2018, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am Friday at the funeral home with Fr. David Nunning officiating.
Entombment will follow at St. Joseph Mausoleum where the Retired Veterans Memorial Club will conduct Military Rites. Memorial contributions may be made to Mater Dei High School, 1300 Harmony Way, Evansville, IN 47720 or a favorite charity. Condolences may be made online at www.
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