 A flashback to 1966 shows McMurphy as a hospital ward nurse who joins the army and after months in basic training, arriving for the first time at China Beach where she meets Dr. Richard for the first time and she loses her innocence fast after facing the horrors of real war in dealing with the endless soldiers coming in for medical treatment and getting help from the head nurse, Jan Wyatt, and the head doctor, Dr. Singer, over handling the situations. Meanwhile, K.C. under the name of  Charlene  and working as a secretary/call girl for the sleazy then-China Beach commander, Lt. Col.  Mac  Miller, meets Boonie Lanier for the first time and they get close when the wounded Boonie is reluctant to go back into the bush when he recovers. K.C., using her influences, gets Mac to hire Boonie as the lifeguard at China Beach.