O'Brien recalls a story of Rat Kiley's. Though Rat swears the story is true, O'Brien doubts its accuracy. He explains that Rat exaggerates not because he wants to deceive, but because he wants listeners to almost feel the story so that it seems more real. Rat had been assigned to a medical detachment near Tra Bong in an area the medics shared with six Green Berets. The groups did not interact often. During an all-night drinking session, a medic jokingly mentions that the medics should pool their money and import some prostitutes from Saigon. One medic, Mark Fossie, is taken by the idea, and six weeks later his high school sweetheart, Mary Anne Bell, arrives at the compound.
Young and naïve, Mary Anne insists on learning about Vietnamese culture and the Vietnam War up close. She assists when the medical unit receives casualties. Eventually she stops wearing make-up, and her attention is consumed by learning how to use an M-16 assault rifle. Fossie suggests that she return home, but she does not. She begins staying out late, finally staying out all night. Fossie, realizing Mary Anne is missing, wakes up Rat. They search for her but do not find her.
