New York to Saigon: taking beers to my friends in a warzone
When Chickie Donahue got word of low morale among his friends fighting in Vietnam in 1967, he embarked on an epic 9,000-mile mission to show his support.
A crazy idea thrown around a neighbourhood pub soon became the adventure of a lifetime. In 1967 New-York-City-native Chickie Donahue crossed oceans and hitched rides across a warzone to hand-deliver beers to his friends fighting in Vietnam. Not a soldier, Chickie relied on his charm and wit to get him to where he needed to go. But what began as a short morale-boosting mission soon became much more trecherous as Chickie found himself caught up in the deadly Lunar New Year attacks on what was then Saigon.
Presenter and producer: Mariana Des Forges
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Picture: Chickie Donahue in Vietnam
Credit: Courtesy of Chickie Donahue
Last on
Broadcasts
- Sun 28 Feb 202108:32GMTBBC World Service except East Asia, Europe and the Middle East & South Asia
- Sun 28 Feb 202123:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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