In November 1967, ex-Marine John "Chickie" Donohue realized that some of his friends serving in Vietnam needed a morale boost.
He decided to travel 8,000 miles to the war-torn country, sneaking in to bring them some ice-cold beers. U.S. Marine Kevin McLoone was driving a jeep through An Khe during the height of the Vietnam War in late 1967 when he was astonished to see someone familiar.
It was none other than John Donohue, a friend from his old neighborhood in New York, standing by the side of the road, attempting to flag down a ride. What made it even stranger was that Donohue was wearing civilian clothes and carrying a duffel bag full of beer.
Donohue then informed McLoone that he had made an 8,000-mile journey from New York to Vietnam specifically to locate his friends and uplift their spirits with some cold brews. McLoone, taken aback by the situation, responded, "That's a hell of a beer run."
Vietnam beer run
In November 1967, influenced by anti-war demonstrations and bartender George Lynch, who worked at a local bar called Doc Fiddler's (now The Red Barrel), Donohue set out on a four-month journey to bring beer to several enlisted men from his neighborhood who were deployed in Vietnam. He landed a job on a merchant ship taking ammunition from New York to Qui Nhon, Vietnam, where he arrived on January 19, 1968, and handed out the first beer to Tom Collins, a member of the 127th Military Police Company and Donohue's childhood friend. He later traveled to A Shau Valley where he brought beer to two additional Inwood natives, Kevin McLoone, and Rick Duggan, and participated briefly in the Battle of Khe Sanh. The following day, he set out for Saigon where he handed out his last beer to Bobby Pappas, a communications specialist in the Army. Having missed the return voyage of his merchant ship, he had to wait for some time before getting a passport and visa through the U.S. Consulate. On the day of his flight out of Saigon, the Tet Offensive started, leaving him stranded in the country. He later latched on as an oiler on a merchant ship destined for New York where he arrived on April 1, 1968
Similarly, Tony Mendez, a CIA operative, carried out a daring plan to rescue six American diplomats stranded in Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis.
Codenamed "Operation Argo," Mendez posed as a Canadian filmmaker scouting locations for a sci-fi movie to sneak the diplomats out of the country. He used an elaborate cover story, complete with fake identities for the stranded Americans, script drafts, and even storyboards. The operation required meticulous planning, courage, and an element of surprise similar to Donohue's 8,000-mile beer run. On January 28, 1980, Mendez successfully led the diplomats through the Tehran airport and onto a flight to freedom.
While the stakes were far different, both Mendez and Donohue showed an extraordinary commitment to their respective missions, displaying a blend of audacity and meticulous planning that resulted in uplifting outcomes during grim times.
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