KC and Boonie

Ok so there are two parts to this:

KC first arrived in Da Nang as a civilian working for the US Army, as a typist. She was assigned to work for Lt Col Mac Miller. KC developed a sexual relationship with Lt Col Miller. He is the father of her daughter Karen.

KC, being the entrepreneur that she is, noticed that the way she could exploit her situation and make a lot of money was to be a high-class round-eye call girl for the military brass. This is how she then found herself at China Beach.

I'm sure you know that all of this happened before the pilot.

Further, we learn through flashback in season 2 that (also before the pilot), Boonie, Dodger and Sweetness were in the same infantry unit. Boonie had a nervous breakdown and became disillusioned being a soldier when (I believe) his commanding officer intended to shoot children in the jungle who they happened to have come across and did not want to give away their position. Boonie had a breakdown and ended up shooting his commanding officer. It was essentially covered up that he was shot by enemy fire.

Bonnie, in his state of shock, found himself on R&R at China Beach. This is where he met KC and went on to be the bartender at the Five and Dime. KC was essentially his saviour, looking after him, loving him and helping him get himself together.

They had a truly loving relationship, which was not like KC at all. After her years of being abused by her father, she was not one to let anyone into her life other than for a quick buck. They remained very close even after Boonie recovered.

The biggest testament to their love was that KC trusted him to adopt and look after her daughter upon her escape from Vietnam back to the US. While KC felt she was not the mother type, her relationship with Boonie showed that she had it in her. It also showed that she trusted him and knew that he would give a loving, hopeful place to her daughter, just like KC did for him.

I've always felt that Boonie belonged with Laurette, but she had dreams to follow as a singer. KC broke his heart over and over, and she never showed up at the reunion--not even to see her daughter.

I just watched all 4 seasons over the past 2 weeks (got the Star Vista DVDs from my local library, and they were fairly decent). My take was that KC really didn't know whether it was Miller or Boonie that fathered her baby. She was sleeping with both of them at the same time. She was willing to throw in her lot with Miller, even though he was married, because he had better prospects. At one point when she tells him about her pregnancy, she says, "How do you know its yours?" I think it is entirely possible that Boonie was the bio dad, which is why she sends Karen to him after Saigon falls. Too bad DNA testing wasn't more prevalent back then. Also, the performances by the two young actresses who played Karen were phenomenal: Shay Ashton as young Karen, and Christine Elise as older Karen.

This whole series is fantastic; throughout the series there are appearances by real life Vietnam nurses and medics, shot by Vilmos Zgimond. Engrossing characters and relationships; excellent soundtrack; never maudlin or preachy. The only problem I had was that Ricki Lake's character just dropped off the map after season 3. But this is some of the best television you will ever see, bar none.