During the course of World War II, many people gained fame in one way or
another.
One man was Butch O'Hare.
He was a fighter pilot assigned to an
aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
One time his entire squadron was
assigned
to fly a particular mission.
After he was airborne, he looked at his
fuel
gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
Because of this, he would not have enough fuel to complete his mission
and
get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to leave formation and
return.
As he was returning to the mothership, he could see a squadron
of
Japanese Zeroes heading toward the fleet to attack.
And with all the
fighter
planes gone, the fleet was almost defenseless.
His was the only
opportunity
to distract and divert them.
Single-handedly, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes and
attacked
them.
The American fighter planes were rigged with cameras, so that as
they
flew and fought, pictures were taken so pilots could learn more about
the
terrain, enemy maneuvers, etc.
Butch dove at them and shot until all his ammunition was gone, then he
would
dive and try to clip off a wing or tail or anything that would make the
enemy planes unfit to fly.
He did anything he could to keep them from
reaching the American ships.
Finally, the Japanese squadron took off in
another direction, and Butch O'Hare and his fighter, both badly shot up,
limped back to the carrier.
He told his story, but not until the film
from
the camera on his plane was developed, did they realize the extent he
really
went to, to protect his fleet.
He was recognized as a hero and given one
of
the nation's highest military honors.
And, as you may know, O'Hare
Airport
in Chicago was named after him.
Prior to this time, in
Chicago, there was a man called Easy Eddie.
He was working for a man
you've all heard about, Al Capone.
Al Capone wasn't
famous for anything heroic, but he was notorious for the murders he'd
committed and the illegal thing's he'd done.
Easy Eddie was Al Capone's
lawyer and he was very good. In fact, because of his skill, he was able
to
keep Al Capone out of jail.
To show his appreciation, Al Capone paid him
very well.
He not only earned big money, he would get extra things, like a
residence
that filled an entire Chicago city block.
The house was fenced, and he
had
live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day.
Easy Eddie had a
son.
He loved his son and gave him all the best things while he was growing
up;
clothes, cars, and a good education.And, because he loved his son he
tried
to teach him right from wrong. But one thing he couldn't give his son
was
a
good name, and a good example.
Easy Eddie decided that this was much
more
important than all the riches he had given him.
So, he went to the
authorities in order to rectify the wrong he had done.
In order to tell
the
truth, it meant he must testify against Al Capone, and he knew that Al
Capone would do his best to have him killed.
But he wanted most of all
to
try to be an example and to do the best he could to give back to his
son,
a
good name.
So, he testified.
Within the year, he was shot and killed on a lonely street in Chicago.
These sound like two unrelated stories, but Butch O'Hare was Easy
Eddie's
son.