Loretta Swit wanted to leave the show after the 8th season to star in the TV series Cagney & Lacey (1981) (she had originated the part of Det. Christine Cagney in the pilot movie). This explains why Margaret has a completely new look, in terms of skin tone and hair. But, executives wouldn't let her out of her contract, so the role went to Sharon Gless.
The theme song for this episode has been changed to emphasize the brass (trumpet) instead of woodwinds (flute/piccolo).
The improvised tracheotomy Hawkeye performs on the Korean soldier is done just as Hawkeye directed Father Mulcahy to do it in "Mulcahy's War" (1976). Where Mulcahy used an eye dropper for the breathing tube, Hawkeye used the body of a pen.
The North Korean soldier is armed with a Simonow SKS-45 carbine.