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John "Chick" Donohue

Biography

John "Chick" Donohue

John “Chick” Donohue joined the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17, then became a Merchant Mariner after his discharge. After the war, he became a Sandhog, or tunnel builder, and eventually became the Legislative and Political Director of Sandhogs, Local 147, Laborers International Union of North America., and graduated from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government He is married to Theresa “Terri” O’Neil.

John "Chick" Donohue

Books by John "Chick" Donohue

The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
by John "Chick" Donohue and J.T. Molloy - Memoir, Nonfiction

One night in 1967, 26-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 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.