Cherokee County, Northwest Iowa | by John Donohue. First sentence in introduction reads "In November, 1967, John "Chick" Donohue was a 26 year old U.S. Marine Corps veteran working as a merchant seaman when he was challenged one night in a New York City bar"-guys in bar were getting sick of watching war protesters, and thought that they should send someone to Viet Nam to look up young men from the neighborhood serving in the military, to show them that they were appreciated for the jobs which they were doing, and also deliver some home town beers.
Chick went down to union hall next day, signed up to be an "oiler" on a ship hauling ammunition to Viet Nam, had the clothes on his back, all the beer he could haul, and his merchant marine union card. After arriving in Viet Nam, he talked the ship's caption into letting him roam around Viet Nam for 3 days. Sure enough, he missed getting back to ship in time, and it sailed off without him, stranding him in a war torn Viet Nam. He did manage to find 4 or 5 hometown buddies, and delivered the beer and good will greetings.
He bluffed his way around the country side and in the big cities in civilian clothes, alot of the U.S. military people he asked favors for like plane, helicopter or truck rides looked at him and assumed that he was CIA, and didn't ask too many questions. He whipped out his union card several times, allowing him to get paid while he was "on the beach", a phrase used by merchant seamen who were stuck on land between ship jobs.
He spent most of the month of January getting the paperwork that would allow him to get on a plane and leave the country, finally got scheduled to leave at 11:00 am on Jan. 30, 1968, which turned out to be the first day of the infamous Tet Offensive. He finally got a job on a ship in late Feb, sailed to Seattle, and flew home to New York City. Wore the same set of clothes for about 4 months.
I did see him being interviewed on TV about his book, and he said that all the guys that he looked in in Viet Nam survived the war, and I think even more amazing, are still alive today. |
Book: "Greatest Beer Run Ever" recommendation
