- Hawkeye: [answering a letter from a boy whose brother died in Korea] Ronnie, it's not a good idea to take the love you had for your brother turn it into hate. Hate makes war, and war is what killed him. I understand your feelings. Sometimes I hate myself for being here. But once in a while in the midst of this insanity, a very small event can make my being here seem almost bearable. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, Ronnie, except to suggest that you look for good wherever you can find it.
- [Winchester gets a letter and leaf]
- Maj. Charles Winchester: Autumn in New England... Dear Virginia: It is with indescribable joy that I accept your gift. It is indeed testimony to the beauty that exists in all creation, but perhaps nowhere more than in a young girl's heart.
- Hawkeye: [reading a letter] Dear doctor, my brother was a soldier in Korea. He got hurt, but some doctors fixed him up so he could go back and fight some more. Then he got killed. Now I'll never see Keith again. You doctors just make people better so they can end up dead. I hate you all.
- Hawkeye: His liver's gone. There's nothing more we can do. He's not gonna make it.
- Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan: Oh no. Well, at least he's not in any pain.
- Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt: I never thought we'd be grateful for a severed spinal cord.
- Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan: I told him there was no movement because of the medication.
- Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan: Good.
- Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan: How much time does he have?
- Hawkeye: Could be an hour. Could be three.
- Hawkeye: Essentially he's saying I'm a very large cog in the war machine. I'm not sure he's wrong.
- Father Francis Mulcahy: Hawkeye, do I need to point out that you don't take lives. You save them.
- Hawkeye: I'm also in weapons repair. I fix people up so they can go out and get killed or kill other people.
- Father Francis Mulcahy: This letter has stirred up some very deep feelings in you, Hawkeye, and you're going to have to deal with those feelings whether you answer the letter or not. It seems to me the problem isn't just what you tell him, it's also what you tell yourself. Perhaps you can find an answer that will satisfy both of you.
- [Hawkeye and BJ are about to operate on a young girl that Dr. Breuer has brought in after slipping and being knocked unconscious in the rain]
- Dr. Breuer: Dear God, I thank You for providing these skilled surgeons. To have them here in this place at this time is truly a sign of Your providence. Please bless their work.