Opening
A three-week Pacific crossing ends with John "Chick" Donohue leaping off the Limon in Seattle and kissing U.S. soil. He sheds the grime of war, flies home first class, and tells his story for the first time—then brings it full circle at Doc Fiddler’s Bar, where his neighborhood turns his gamble into legend. The night closes with a quiet promise to his mother: never again.
What Happens
Chapter 36: I Kiss the Ground Summary
The Limon docks in Seattle, and Chick bolts down the gangway, kissing the ground in relief. After collecting nearly $2,000 in pay, he says a heartfelt goodbye to Johnny, the ship’s engineer who once saved his life during the Tet Offensive. Determined to get home, Chick heads straight to J.C. Penney, buys a full outfit, changes in the fitting room, and dumps his shredded jeans and madras shirt—discarding the last physical traces of his four-month ordeal.
Clean and reset, he grabs a cab to the airport and buys a ticket to New York. Bumped to first class, he sits beside a middle-aged businessman who senses a story and asks if he’s returning from Vietnam. Chick admits he is—just “visiting a few friends”—and, over several Manhattans, unfurls the entire saga. As the plane descends, the sight of New York’s skyline, “fist-pumping the sky,” breaks him open; tears come with the knowledge that he made it home when so many didn’t.
At JFK, Chick directs a taxi to Doc Fiddler’s in Inwood, the bar where the beer run began. The room erupts. George "The Colonel" Lynch shouts, “Holy s—, Chick, you’re alive!” and Chick immediately confirms that Tommy Collins, Rick Duggan, Kevin McLoone, and Bobby Pappas are alive, too. The Colonel—who never drinks on duty—pours a round and toasts the mission as one of respect, pride, and love. A wall map shows how the neighborhood tracked Chick’s progress. Later, a friend drives him to his parents’ New Jersey home, where his mother hugs him, cries, and makes him promise never to return to Vietnam. He’s glad to keep it.
Character Development
Chick closes the loop on his transformation. The reckless-seeming venture that began at a bar now returns to it as a hard-won feat anchored in loyalty and community. He owns the story, accepts the hero’s welcome, and chooses home.
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John “Chick” Donohue
- Throws away his war-worn clothes, signaling a deliberate break from the trauma and grime of Vietnam.
- Tells his saga for the first time to a stranger, shifting his experience into a communal story.
- Weeps at the skyline, revealing humility, gratitude, and renewed belonging.
- Promises his mother he won’t go back to Vietnam, embracing responsibility and closure.
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George “The Colonel” Lynch
- Greets Chick with shock and joy, validating the stakes of the journey.
- Breaks his own rule to pour a round and delivers a defining toast.
- Recasts the beer run as an act of respect, pride, and love—cementing it as neighborhood lore.
Themes & Symbols
The chapter culminates the book’s meditation on Friendship, Loyalty, and Camaraderie. Chick’s first instinct at Doc Fiddler’s is to assure everyone their boys are alive, and the bar’s explosion of relief becomes the community’s answer to the risks he took. The journey, once a one-man mission, belongs to everyone now.
It also reframes the story as a grassroots expression of Patriotism and Support for Soldiers. The Colonel’s toast defines the beer run not as spectacle but as a delivery of dignity to men serving far from home—a vital countercurrent to a divided nation and a reminder that ordinary citizens can meet extraordinary moments with care.
Symbols
- New Clothes: A ritual cleansing and rebirth into civilian life; Chick discards a wartime self and steps into home.
- Doc Fiddler’s Bar: The narrative’s alpha and omega—origin and endpoint—making the story circular and communal.
- The Manhattan Cocktail: A wry, on-brand toast to New York and the final handoff from journey to homecoming.
- The Wall Map: Proof that the neighborhood co-owns the mission; the community tracks, witnesses, and validates.
- Kissing the Ground: Physical gratitude and reconnection with home soil; an embodied vow to the life he’s returned to.
Key Quotes
“The skyscrapers look like they’re fist-pumping the sky.” This metaphor fuses the city’s iconic image with Chick’s surge of triumph and relief. The skyline becomes a character welcoming him home, signaling that identity and belonging are restored.
“Holy s—, Chick, you’re alive!” The Colonel’s raw outburst captures the danger Chick faced and the community’s fear during his absence. Survival itself is the headline—and the cause for collective celebration.
“To Chickie, who brought our boys beer, respect, pride—and love, goddamn it!” The toast reframes the entire journey as moral purpose, not stunt. By naming respect, pride, and love, it sets the emotional terms by which the community—and the book—will remember the mission.
He was just “visiting a few friends.” Chick’s understatement masks the peril and spotlights his motive. Friendship—not glory—drives the narrative and justifies the risk.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
The chapter serves as the resolution and emotional catharsis, using a circular structure—back to Doc Fiddler’s—to seal the story as communal legend. What begins as a barroom dare ends as a validated act of loyalty and love, transforming a reckless idea into a neighborhood epic. By pairing public celebration with the private promise to his mother, the book grounds its big-hearted myth in the quiet relief of a family, clarifying what was at stake and why it endures.