DALLAS, TX.- The combat boots and dog tags Alan Alda wore during the 11 seasons he spent as Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H sold Friday at Heritage Auctions for $125,000. Every cent from the sale of the actor's sole remaining M*A*S*H mementos will help fund what has become the actor, writer and director's greatest passion: the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University.

"It's amazing to see how M*A*S*H still has the power to make a contribution," Alda said following Friday's auction. "And Heritage Auctions donating their usual fee is very generous. The Alda Center for Communicating Science will be thrilled. I know I am."

Several client-collectors, all lifelong M*A*S*H fans, fought doggedly over the boots and dog tags, which had belonged to World War II soldiers before Alda reported to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the summer of 1972.

Before filming began, costumers handed Alda a pair of scuffed-up combat boots, inside which someone had written in black marker the name of his character: "HAWKEYE." He was also given a pair of dog tags, two tiny rectangles made of nickel and copper upon which the names of strangers had been stamped: Hersie Davenport and Morriss D. Levine.

Every day, throughout 251 episodes as Capt. Benjamin Franklin Pierce, Alda slipped on those boots. Every day, he put those dog tags over his head. And every day, he thought about the men who had worn them before him. These boots and tags were the sole mementos Alda held on to upon bidding goodbye, farewell and amen to the beloved series in 1983.

"Putting on the boots and lacing up the boots, I was literally stepping into somebody's shoes," the 87-year-old Alda said before the auction. "That feel of the leather on my foot, the comfort of being in those shoes ... makes you feel more at home in the character."

He helped found The Alda Center for Communicating Science after 12 years spent on another long-running series, PBS' Scientific American Frontiers. That experience sparked in Alda the idea that scientists could more clearly and vividly communicate with audiences if they had experience in combining the skills of improvisation with good message design. Alda brought improvisational exercises to classrooms at Stony Brook and to institutions around the world. As a result, the center has trained more than 20,000 scientists in nine countries.

That experience also led Alda to host the popular podcast Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda, where he interviews scientists, authors, doctors, musicians, actors — anyone who interests him and has something substantive to say. The show's revenue also goes to the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.

"It has been Heritage's honor to work with Mr. Alda, who is, of course, an American treasure," says Heritage Auctions' President, Greg Rohan. "We are also delighted to donate our portion of the proceeds to The Alda Center for Communicating Science and the important work it's doing. An enormous thank-you to Mr. Alda — and, of course, to those clients who made today such an emotional and rewarding experience."