Alfonso Cardenas, 64, an insurance salesman and a Korean War veteran stationed at MASH Unit 4077, died Thursday, Feb. 1, of a heart attack while vacationing in Acapulco. Mr. Cardenas was born in East Chicago and grew up in Chicago. In 1984, he moved to Calumet City, where he lived until his death. Mr. Cardenas was drafted during the Korean War and served for a short time at the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital used as the model for the long-running television series “M*A*S*H.” “He told me the way the sets were groomed was exactly the way it was over there,” said his son, Bryan. “He showed me pictures of the real camp, and I was absolutely amazed.” In the late 1950s, Mr. Cardenas began working as a salesman for American National Insurance. He remained with the company until health problems forced him to retire in 1995. Mr. Cardenas was also a hairdresser and an assistant to residents at the Lieberman Center for senior citizens in Skokie. Other survivors include a brother, Joe; and two sisters, Ralpha Rebeles and Juanita Abascal. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Wednesday in St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church, 768 Lincoln Ave., Calumet City.
