Alda Auctioning Off Dog Tags, Boots from M*A*S*H

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According to World Entertainment News Network (via the IMDb), Alan Alda will be auctioning off the dog tags and army boots he wore in the role of Hawkeye Pierce during his time on M*A*S*H to raise money for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which supports injured troops. The items will be auctioned as part of the second annual Stand Up for Heroes: A Benefit for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, presented by the New York Comedy Festival and the Bob Woodruff Foundation (read a press release here).

The W.E.N.N. article states that the items will be auctioned off at the charityfolks.org website today (Tuesday, November 4th), but I believe the actual website is charityfolks.com. The page for the Bod Woodruff Foundation can be found here. Alda discussed the boots and dog tags in “Memories of M*A*S*H,” a retrospective originally broadcast in November of 1991:

“At a certain point I never had to think about it. I just felt I was him as soon as I put the clothes on. I loved those boots. I think Laurence Olivier said something about a character starting with the shoes. And they gave me a pair of boots that had been worn in the army by somebody. They just felt perfect. And I wore them no matter how shredded they got. I wore them all the way through for eleven years ’cause without those boots I didn’t feel like the guy. And I took them home with me. That was I think the only thing I took home with me. That and the dog tags which I wore every day. They were real dog tags from two real guys. Hercey Davenport and Morris D. Levine [actual spelling unknown].”

How much will the items — perhaps not the most famous memorabilia from M*A*S*H but still important and with a personal connection to show’s biggest name — sell for is a question I look forward to having answered.

5 Replies to “Alda Auctioning Off Dog Tags, Boots from M*A*S*H”

  1. Are these the boots with a hole from “For Want of aBoot”? Or the ones BJ nailed down in “The Joker Is Wild”?

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