George "The Colonel" Lynch

Quick Facts

George “The Colonel” Lynch — Bartender at Doc Fiddler’s in Inwood, Manhattan; community ringleader and moral anchor. First appears in Chapter 1 at the bar, where his outrage over anti-war protests catalyzes the plot. Key relationships: John “Chick” Donohue (chosen emissary), the Inwood community, and “the boys” serving in Vietnam. Nickname is honorary: despite having been only a private first class, he’s called “The Colonel” for his discipline, patriotism, and command of military history.

Who They Are

The Colonel is the beating heart of Inwood’s home front—a bartender who turns a neighborhood bar into a civic headquarters. He channels anger at protests targeting soldiers into action, transforming Doc Fiddler’s from a place of stories into a place of marching orders. When others wring their hands, he assigns a mission: send a local son, Chick, across the world with beer and messages of solidarity. In doing so, he embodies a distinctly blue-collar patriotism that equates love of country with care for the people fighting in its name.

Personality & Traits

The Colonel’s presence is defined less by looks than by ritual, voice, and will. He leads with feeling and follows with logistics, turning sentiment into parades, and speeches into plans. His charisma is both social glue and moral compass: he can hush a crowded room with a story, then mobilize that same room into a marching line.

• Fiercely patriotic: He commandeers an empty lot to erect a towering flagpole and personally raises and lowers the flag each day; he organizes Memorial Day and Fourth of July parades with marines, NYPD Pipes and Drums, and even FBI agents—efforts Chick calls “beautifully crazy” (Chapter 1).
• Supportive of soldiers: He treats returning GIs “like kings,” refuses to let them pay at the bar, and keeps “the Barracks” (army-surplus bunks) for any soldier who needs a bed—an ethos central to the book’s theme of Patriotism and Support for Soldiers (Chapter 1).
• Charismatic disciplinarian: A master storyteller who commands a room, he also runs a tight ship behind the bar, maintaining order while elevating spirits—literally and figuratively.
• Passionate and idealistic: News clips of protesters turning on soldiers leave him “unhappy” and disgusted, and that moral hurt becomes fuel for an audacious, improbable plan to lift the troops’ morale.

Character Journey

The Colonel doesn’t change so much as he changes everyone around him. His arc is catalytic: he begins with rituals—flags, parades, free drinks for GIs—and escalates to mission-making when he decides symbolic gestures aren’t enough. In November 1967, he reframes neighborhood loyalty as a concrete assignment: send Chick to Vietnam with beer and encouragement. From there, his role is unwavering: keeper of purpose, guarantor of morale, and home-front commander whose immovable convictions give the story its momentum. He remains static in belief but dynamic in effect, converting communal pride into action.

Key Relationships

• John “Chick” Donohue: The Colonel recognizes in Chick the rare mix of courage, street savvy, and seaman’s papers the scheme requires. When he asks for Chick’s card and “passes the torch,” he’s not just delegating a chore; he’s commissioning a mission, trusting Chick to carry the neighborhood’s voice and values overseas (Chapter 1).

• The Inwood Community: He functions as Inwood’s unofficial mayor and chaplain, staging parades, raising the flag, and making Doc Fiddler’s a sanctuary for service members and their families. His authority is earned through service—he pays soldiers’ tabs, houses them in “the Barracks,” and turns collective anxiety into collective action.

• The Soldiers (Collective): To the Colonel, “the boys” are sons of the bar and the block. His care is concrete—beer, beds, and blessings—and his anger at their demoralization is what births the beer run in the first place.

Defining Moments

He’s most himself when turning grief or outrage into motion—when a feeling becomes a plan and a plan becomes a promise.

• The challenge at Doc Fiddler’s (November 1967): After watching news of protesters targeting soldiers, he stares Chick “dead serious in the eyes” and proposes sending someone to Vietnam with beer and messages of support (Chapter 1).

  • Why it matters: It’s the spark that lights the entire narrative and the clearest expression of his belief that love of country must be proved in tangible acts.

• Reassuring Mrs. Collins: When the mother of Tommy Collins comes into the bar in anxious hope, he shouts, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Collins! Chickie’ll take care of it! He’s gonna do this!” (Chapter 2).

  • Why it matters: He assumes responsibility not only for the plan but for the community’s peace of mind, publicly vouching for Chick and converting an idea into a binding promise.

• Raising the flag and leading parades: From erecting a giant flagpole to staging holiday parades with military and law enforcement units (Chapter 1).

  • Why it matters: These rituals define his leadership style—ceremony as strategy, patriotism as daily practice—and foreshadow the larger “ceremony” of sending Chick overseas.

Symbolism & Significance

The Colonel symbolizes the home-front conscience of a working-class neighborhood: unwavering loyalty to soldiers regardless of political crosswinds. Doc Fiddler’s becomes a kind of command post where stories become orders and affection becomes logistics. Through him, the book elevates everyday neighborliness into a code of honor—friendship expanded into civic duty and the theme of Friendship, Loyalty, and Camaraderie made literal by a beer can carried across a war zone.

Essential Quotes

“You know how demoralized they must be while they’re over there doing their duty? We’ve got to do something for them!” This line distills his ethic: empathy first, action second. He refuses to let sympathy sit idle, insisting that morale is a communal responsibility and not merely the army’s job.

“Somebody ought to go over to ’Nam, track down our boys from the neighborhood, and bring them each a beer!” The audacity of the plan arrives as a barroom “ought to”—a moral imperative disguised as a harebrained scheme. It reframes patriotism as personal delivery: not speeches, but showing up.

“You heard me! Bring them excellent beer, bring them messages from back home. Bring them . . . encouragement. Tell them we’re with them every step of the way!” His cadence turns a wild idea into a mission briefing, with “beer,” “messages,” and “encouragement” functioning like supplies on a manifest. The ellipsis underscores the emotional weight beneath the logistics.

As Chick leaves on his mission, the Colonel refuses his money and shouts, “God bless Chickie, and God bless America!” Blessing Chick and blessing America collapse into the same act: support for one becomes support for all. Refusing the money seals the mission as a gift from the community, not a transaction—a benediction and a send-off in one.