When I first came across this book, I couldn’t believe it was true. I have delved into the Vietnam War recently, learning about COG and other unsung heroes of the day, but this one takes the cake for its unrivaled premise. The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty and War is a wildly entertaining, feel-good memoir by an Irish-American New Yorker and former U.S. marine who embarked on a courageous, hare-brained scheme to deliver beer to his pals serving Vietnam in the late 1960s.
Now a major motion picture from AppleTV+ featuring Zac Efron and Russell Crowe.
Book Jacket of The Greatest Beer Run Ever
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.
Discussion Guide
After the Colonel “volun-told” Chickie to head to Vietnam in that fateful night at the bar, everything seems to fall into place for Chickie’s departure. What do you think of this idea to boost morale? Did you think Chickie would ever be successful?
Chickie doesn’t even make it to land before coming upon his first neighborhood friend, Tommy Collins. How do you think this encounter bolstered his attitude to find the others? Do you think this was luck or something greater that led Chickie directly into Tommy’s boat?
Chickie jumps into the fox hole with Rick Duggan along the DMZ. As a Marine veteran, he has military training but seems unprepared to find himself in the middle of the war. How would you feel in this scenario? Would you go this far to bring a friend a beer and a boost?
Chickie goes all around Vietnam looking for his “stepbrother” and using his “CIA look” to his advantage. How does his views of friendship and loyalty play into his actions to do what is necessary to get to those on the list?
Was this, in fact, the greatest beer run ever in your opinion? Who do you have in your life like Chickie?
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