CDR Butch O'Hare, Naval Ace

[COPO 70 RS/Z28]

[hvychev]

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago .. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but also, Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against TheMob, and he knew that the cost would be great.

So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street.

But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop At late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching
danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.


Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet.

He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.


So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.


When I first saw this story I found it hard to believe so I e-mailed my friend and Capone expert Mario Gomes in Canada about this story. Here is what he had to say.

Mario is this true?

-Frank

Hello Frank,
Yes and no. Yes, Butch was Edward O'Hare's son. The problem with the story is they try to romanticize Edward O'Hare as sacrificing his life to turn against Capone. The truth is Mr. Edward O'Hare was an opportunist.He had made plenty of money with the Capone gang. He screwed over a gentleman who invented the mechanical rabbit that made the dogs run at the racetrack. Before Capone, Eddie had been a lawyer in St. Louis associating with many a gangster there.
He desperately wanted his son to get into the military academy (West point I believe). Butch couldn't make it on his own so Edward O'Hare decided to become an informant against the Capone gang in return for his son getting in the academy.His turning help get Capone behind bars.
The story makes it sound as if Eddie really cared about right from wrong and wanted to get rid of Capone and his ilk from society.
Edward knew the consequences and got what he deserved. He must have known what the Capone gang was about before making a decision like that.The Capone gangsters got him as a gift to Al right before he was released.
As far as Butch, I'd say he was the real hero.

Best regards,
Mario

[ANDY M]

Frank, as Paul Harvey would say, "Now you know the rest of the story". BTW, I first heard this story on his radio show years ago. Somehow that last part was overlooked.
Thanks for the "real" rest of the story.
Andy

[TimG]

The good old Lexington is in Corpus Christi in fine form. I spent a night on it when my boys were is Scouts. It was an annual trip.

[Salvatore]

Frank M. that is a great story! I had to read it again. Thanks for the history lesson! Sam

[sssteve]

[ QUOTE ]
The good old Lexington is in Corpus Christi in fine form. I spent a night on it when my boys were is Scouts. It was an annual trip.

[/ QUOTE ]I am a big WW II history also.Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the original carrier "Lexington"sink in the "Battle of Coral Sea" in May of 1942.The carrier "Yorktown"(later sunk in the "Battle Of Midway") was also damadged.This was the first time in history opposing capital ships were sunk without being in sight of each other.I beleive the Japanese lost the carrier "Zukaku".The Lexington in Corpus Christi must be a later carrier.

[m22mike]

Good history on USS Yorktown CV5, the 3rd. Yorktown

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/...-yorktown.html

And USS Lexington CV2, the 4th Lexington

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/...lexington.html

Both lost in battle

Mike

[COPO 70 RS/Z28]

There's another place northwest of "The Numbers Guy" that gets some press because of the funny name

"Bong Recreational Area".

But what a lot of people dont know is where the name came from

Major Richard I. Bong
Top American Ace of World War Two
Shot down 40 Japanese Planes in the Pacific

After Bong scored his 40th victory, General Kenney sent him home, this time for good. He was America's "Ace of Aces," with 40 aerial victories, 200 combat missions, and over 500 combat hours behind him.

On August 6, 1945 (the day the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima) Dick Bong was killed when the P-80 he was testing stalled on takeoff and he bailed out at low altitude. His body, partially wrapped in the shrouds of his parachute, was found 100 feet from the plane's jet engine. On 8 August 1945 he was burried in the Poplar cemetary, Poplar, Wisconsin



Richard Bong's decorations included the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star (with 1 OLC), the Distinguished Flying Cross (with 6 OLC's), the Air Medal (with 14 OLC's), and many other American and foreign medals.

[427TJ]

Bong was stateside on a war bond tour (between combat tours) and he flew a P-38 around the country visiting bases and making public appearances. On one stop in San Francisco he flew very low right down Market Street and then did loops around the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge. He got a verbal warning but no disciplinary action was taken. I would love to have seen that P-38 looping around the bridge.