Sorry, this is not a pilot joke—but it is a pilot story. Read on and you’ll see . . . FYI, since these stories sounded a little too pat, I looked them up to confirm them. Turns out they’re true.
EASY EDDIE
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone was notorious for enmeshing the Windy City in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to mob hits. Capone had a lawyer and business partner nicknamed “Easy Eddie,” who helped run Capone’s horse and dog track operation. His clever legal maneuvering also kept Big Al out of prison.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid Easy Eddie very well. Not only was the money big, but also Eddie got special perks. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that he helped make possible.
Eddie did have a soft spot, however–a son whom he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had the best of everything. Price was no object. And despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach his son right from wrong so that he’d grow up to be a better man than he was. Yet, for all his wealth and influence, there were two things Eddie couldn’t give his son: a good name and a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. He wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided to become an informant against Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his own tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. He knew what the cost would be, but he did it anyway, testifying for the IRS and helping to convict Capone on charges of tax evasion.
Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street. But he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay.
BUTCH O’HARE
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare, a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington in the South Pacific.
Lt. Cdr. Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare
One clear winter day, six Wildcats were sent into the air to protect the Lexington from Japanese bombers. O’Hare and his wingman spotted the enemy planes first. The wingman’s guns jammed, however, and the other four planes were too far away, so O’Hare faced nine twin-engine Japanese bombers alone. He shot down five of them and damaged a sixth before other U.S. fighters arrived. No enemy bombs made it to the Lexington.
This heroic act took place on February 20, 1942, and earned Butch the Congressional Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat.” The Medal of Honor citation calls Lt. Cdr. O’Hare’s accomplishment that day “…one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation.” Lt. Cdr. O’Hare also became the U.S. Navy’s first Ace pilot. A year later, he was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29 during the battle for the Gilbert Islands in the South Pacific.
Lt. Cdr. O’Hare’s hometown would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So the next time you find yourself at O’Hare, visit the memorial, located between Terminals 1 and 2, where a statue of O’Hare and his Medal of Honor are on display.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son.
