The Most Famous
Beer Run of All Time
His name is Vincent Speranza. Like other members of the Greatest Generation, he was full of grit. He joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1943. As an inexperienced 19-year-old, he was assigned to H Company, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne. Shortly after completing training, Vince was shipped out to Bastogne, Belgium, as a machine gunner.
Here, he shortly found himself in the thick of battle, in a foxhole, during the dead of winter. He and his unit were freezing, hungry, scared and short on supplies and ammunition. To top it all off, they were surrounded by German troops. What could be worse?
“The first eight days we got pounded by German artillery,” Speranza recalled. “But this was the 101st. They could not get past [us]. They never set one foot in Bastogne.” On the second day, his friend Joe Willis was wounded, taking shrapnel in both legs. He was pulled back to a makeshift combat hospital inside a mostly destroyed church. Vince tracked him down and asked if there was anything he could do for his friend.
The answer was simple — Joe wanted a beer. Vince told him he was crazy! It would be impossible to get beer anywhere, as the city was destroyed and the 101st was surrounded by Germans. The supply chain was shut down, and they were constantly taking artillery fire nonstop.
What remained of the town was bombarded. But Joe wanted a beer. He needed a beer to take his mind off the war.
Members of the 101st marching in Bastogne.
Beer Run Bravery
If ever there were a medal for most courageous beer run, Speranza would have earned it! Moving through town in the cover of darkness, Vince went from blown-out tavern to blown-out tavern, searching until he found a working tap. At the third tavern, Vince pulled on a tap and beer came flowing out. What would he use to transport his found treasure? Speranza filled his helmet — the same one used as a makeshift shovel and porta-potty in the foxhole — with all the beer he could handle and returned to the hospital.
Mission accomplished! Vince triumphantly poured beer from his helmet for Joe and the other wounded men around him. When the beer ran out, they asked him to go for more. So, what did Vince do? He made a second dangerous beer run. Surely, he was deserving of a second medal for such heroic actions.
The streets of Bastogne as they appeared in 1945,
when Speranza made his beer run.
Dangers of War
As he returned to the hospital the second time, Vince was confronted by a Major demanding to know what he was doing. Vince sheepishly said, “Giving aid and comfort to the wounded” was the paratrooper’s simple answer. A truer statement never uttered!
After an ass chewing about the dangers of giving beer to men with gut and chest wounds, Vince put his helmet back on, beer pouring down his uniform, and headed out. While that could have been the end of the story, the story continued for 65 years when Vince returned to Bastogne for an anniversary celebration.
Vince Speranza in front of the namesake beer he inspired.
Vince Speranza showing where he was in Bastogne during a visit.
Airborne Beer
When Vince returned 65 years later for an anniversary, tour guides asked him what unit he was with. When he told them the 501, the guides knew exactly where to take Vince. “You would have been dug in right here.” Vince looked around, acknowledged them, and looked at the filled-in trench. It was very emotional for Vince, as you can imagine.
Wanting to forget the ravages of war he experienced, he started telling other stories to lighten his mood. He eventually got to his beer run story, and the tour guides were shocked and stunned. “You’re the Guy?! We thought that was a made-up story! You’re famous!” At this point, the tour guides called the waiter over!
“Waiter, 4 Airborne beers, please!” Imagine Vince’s surprise when the waiter appears, with four bottles of beer on his tray, with a label of an American paratrooper carrying his helmet full of beer. And to top it off, the bottles of beer were served with ceramic cups shaped like an American GI’s helmet.
Airborne beer is brewed by Brasserie de Bouillon in Bastogne, Belgium. Now you know the rest of the story. Vince Speranza died August 2nd, 2023, at the ripe old age of 98. You can be sure he arrived in heaven with a helmet full of beer for all his Army buddies.
