Butch O'Hare Was A Navy Flier in W.W.II
One Day His Entire Squadron Was Sent Out On A Mission
After He Was Airborne, He Looked At His Fuel Gauge
He Realized That Someone Had Forgotten To Top Off His Fuel Tank
He Would Not Have Enough Fuel To Complete His Mission
He Would Not Be Able To 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 Carrier, He Saw Something That Turned His Blood Cold
A Squadron Of Japanese Zeroes Were Speeding Their Way Toward The American Fleet
The American Fighters Were Gone On A Sortie
The Entire Fleet Was Now All But Defenseless
He Couldn't Radio 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 For Him 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 Machine Guns Blazed As he Charged In
His Attack Surprised One Enemy Plane And Then Another
Butch Weaved In And Out Of The Now Broken Formation
He Fired At As Many Planes As Possible
Until Finally All Of His Ammunition Was Gone

Undaunted, He Continued The Assault
He Dove At The Zeroes, Trying To At Least Clip Off A Wing Or A Tail
He Hoped To Damage As Many Enemy Planes As Possible
He Wanted To Render Them Unfit To Fly
He Was Desperate To Do Anything He Could
Anything To Keep Them From Reaching The American Ships

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 His Arrival, He Reported In
He Related All Of The Events Surrounding His Return
The Film From The Camera Mounted On His Plane Told The Tale
It Showed The Extent Of Butch's Daring Attempt To Protect His Fleet

He Was Recognized As A Hero
He Was Awarded One Of The Nation's Highest Military Honors

And Today
O'Hare Airport In Chicago Is Named In Tribute To The Courage Of This Great Man

Story Number 2

Some Years Earlier There Was A Man In Chicago Called Easy Eddie
At That Time Al Capone Virtually Owned Chicago
Capone Wasn't Famous For Anything Heroic
His Exploits Were Anything But Praiseworthy
He Was, However, Notorious For Enmeshing The City Of Chicago
In Everything From Bootlegged, Booze And Prostitution To Murder

Easy Eddie Was Capone's Lawyer And For A Good Reason
He Was Very Good!
In fact, His 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 Eddie Got Special Dividends
For Instance, He And His Family Occupied A Big, 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

Yes, Eddie Lived The High Life Of The Chicago Mob
He Gave Little Consideration To The Atrocities That Went On Around Him
However, Eddie Did Have One Soft Spot
He Had A Son That He Loved Very Dearly
Eddie Saw To It That His Young Son Had The Best Of Everything
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

Yes, Eddie Tried To Teach His Son To Rise Above His Own Sordid Life
He Wanted Him To Be A Better Man Than He Was
Yet, With All His Wealth And Influence
There Were Two Things That Eddie Couldn't Give His Son
Two Things That Eddie Sacrificed To The Capone Mob
That He Could Not Pass On To His Beloved Son
A Good Name And A Good Example

One Day, Easy Eddie Reached A Difficult Decision
He Wanted To Offer His Son A Good Name
This Was Far More Important Than All The Riches He Could Lavish On Him
He Had To Rectify All The Wrong That He Had Done
He Would Go To The Authorities And Tell The Truth About Scar-Face Al Capone
He Would Try To Clean Up His Tarnished Name
And Offer His Son Some Semblance Of Integrity
To Do This He Must Testify Against The Mob
He Knew That The Cost Would Be Great
But More Than Anything, He Wanted To Be A Good Example To His Son
He Wanted To Do His Best To Make Restoration
And Hopefully Have A Good Name To Leave His Son

So He Testified

Within The Year
Easy Eddie's Life Ended In A Blaze Of Gunfire On A Lonely Chicago Street
He Had Given His Son The Greatest Gift He Had To Offer
It Was At the Greatest Price He Could Ever Pay

I Know What You're Thinking
What Do These Two Stories Have To Do With One Another?

Well
Butch O'Hare Was Easy Eddie's Son

Author Unknown

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