The Greatest Beer Run Ever
- Shawn Presley
- Aug 4, 2024
- 2 min read
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
by John "Chick" Donohue (Author), J. T. Molloy (Author)
One night in 1967, twenty-six-year-old John Donohue—known as Chick—was out with friends, drinking in a New York City bar. The friends gathered there had lost loved ones in Vietnam. Now, they watched as anti-war protesters turned on the troops themselves.
One neighborhood patriot came up with an inspired—some would call it insane—idea. Someone should sneak into Vietnam, track down their buddies there, give them messages of support from back home, and share a few laughs over a can of beer.
It would be the Greatest Beer Run Ever.
But who’d be crazy enough to do it?
One man was up for the challenge—a U. S. Marine Corps veteran turned merchant mariner who wasn’t about to desert his buddies on the front lines when they needed him.
Chick volunteered.
A day later, he was on a cargo ship headed to Vietnam, armed with Irish luck and a backpack full of alcohol. Landing in Qui Nho’n, Chick set off on an adventure that would change his life forever—an odyssey that took him through a series of hilarious escapades and harrowing close calls, including the Tet Offensive. But none of that mattered if he could bring some cheer to his pals and show them how much the folks back home appreciated them.
This is the story of that epic beer run, told in Chick’s own words and those of the men he visited in Vietnam.
Schedule
Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. CT.
June 6 - Introduction, Forward, and Part I: A Sand County Almanac
June 27 - Part II: Sketches Here and There
July 11 - Part III: The Upshot
Discussion Leader
Shawn Presley
About the authors
John "Chickie" Donohue is an American former United States Marine, merchant seaman and trade unionist. He is best known for his 1968 journey through Vietnam where he delivered beer to several United States service members during the height of the Vietnam War.
J.T. Molloy, who worked as a reporter at the N.Y. Daily News, the N.Y. Post, and New York magazine for 25 years, lives in Brooklyn with family. This book is written in memory of beloved cousin Eugene O'Connell, an actor, who was killed in Vietnam on May 25, 1968.
Discussion
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