Two strong stories. Read to the end for the kicker.
Story One:
Years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone was notorious for enmeshing the Windy City in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” Eddie was very good — his skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. Capone paid him very well and gave Eddie 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 filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however: a son whom he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. And despite being involved with organized crime, Eddie tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
Yet there were two important 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. He wanted to rectify his wrongs. So he decided he would go to the authorities, tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, and try to clean his tarnished name. He testified, knowing that going against the Mob would impose a high cost.
Within a year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But he had attempted to reform his name to give his son the greatest gift he had to offer. In his pockets, police found 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 Two:
World War II produced many heroes. One was Lieutenant Commander Edward (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 Lexington so, reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning, he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
With the American fighters gone on a sortie, 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.
Setting aside thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50-calibers 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 his ammunition was spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault by diving at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible.
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. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of WW II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at age 29. His hometown would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade. O’Hare airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So, the next time you’re 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?
Edward (Butch) O’Hare was “Easy Eddie’s” son.