[Hawkeye was telling Dr. Sidney Freedman about what he initially thought was a chicken clucking inside the bus]

Dr. Sidney Freedman: Then what happened?

Hawkeye: Then I went back toward the front of the bus.

Dr. Sidney Freedman: And what happened next?

Hawkeye: There’s something wrong with it. It stopped making noise. It just–just stopped.

[pauses]

Hawkeye: She-she killed it! She killed it!

Dr. Sidney Freedman: She killed the chicken?

Hawkeye: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I didn’t mean for her to kill it.

[sobbing]

Hawkeye: I did not–I–I just wanted it to be quiet. It was–it was a baby! She, she smothered her own baby.

[pauses]

Hawkeye: You son of a bitch, why did you make me remember that?

Dr. Sidney Freedman: You had to get it out in the open. Now we’re halfway home.

The series finale of M*A*S*H aired on this day, 36 years ago (February 28, 1983). Over 125 million tuned in to watch! To this day, it is the largest audience for any television series (excluding sports and news events) ever. It is still the standard of which every television series finale is compared.

You can get the complete series from Amazon by clicking on the box set below: