"Jim Burns" wrote in message
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Two Stories of Doing The Right Thing
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You need to read all of this, especially if you are from Chicago
or ever travel by plane to Chicago.

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 his 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 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 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. 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; that
he couldn't pass on a good name and 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 The Mob, 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
would ever pay.

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 their 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 dived 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.


Some parts of this glurge about Edgar Joseph "Easy Eddie" O'Hare (also known
as EJ) and his son, Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare, are true, if exaggerated in
the presentation above. The senior O'Hare provided legal services to Al
Capone and later helped the government bring that notorious gangster to
justice on tax fraud charges in 1931, then was murdered on 8 November 1939.
(Exactly who killed Eddie O'Hare has always been a subject for debate, but
the preponderance of the evidence indicates that he was killed on orders
from Capone for having given information to the government that led to
Capone's imprisonment.) Eddie's son Butch was a pilot who died in the
Pacific during World War II when he failed to return to his carrier after a
night mission on 26 November 1943, and Chicago's O'Hare airport was indeed
named in his honor. (Dispute remains over exactly what happened to Butch, a
Medal of Honor winner, but the preponderance of the evidence indicates his
plane was downed by friendly fire rather than Japanese Zeroes.)

This glurge completely jumps the tracks, however, in trying to turn the
story of Eddie and Butch O'Hare into a tale of redemption, a little morality
play to demonstrates the importance of recognizing the errors of one's ways,
of atoning for one's misdeeds, of trying to do right and prevent one's sins
from being visited on future generations. Those are all valuable lessons,
but they have precious little to do with this story.

Eddie O'Hare was not just a gangster's lawyer, he was also a partner in some
of Al Capone's illegal activities. Despite having entered a profession in
which he was expected, of all things, to uphold the law, the senior O'Hare
broke the law to enrich himself through unethical and illegal schemes in
partnership with the most notorious gangster in American history. What's
more, he served Capone as an attorney and business manager, aiding the
mobster in setting up illegal enterprises and helping to keep Capone and his
cronies out of prison.

When "Easy Eddie" did eventually provide information that aided federal
authorities in sending Capone to prison for income tax evasion, it was far
less likely that he did it because he had an attack of conscience, wanted to
right the wrongs he'd done, or sought to teach his son the value of
integrity. More probably he turned state's evidence because he could see the
handwriting on the wall: Capone was going to be nailed with or without his
assistance, but by doing the government a favor Eddie could keep himself out
of prison. (Some sources even suggest the connections Eddie made by turning
government informant were what got his son Butch a berth at the U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis.)

Perhaps Eddie O'Hare believed or knew he would be killed for what he had
done; perhaps not. Either way, it was his son Butch who redeemed the family
name through his wartime bravery and heroism, and the price he paid for that
redemption was his life. None of that redemption was achieved through the
actions of Easy Eddie.

Was the elder O'Hare "able to pass the value of integrity on to his son"? If
his actions illustrated anything, it was just the opposite of integrity: if
you're clever enough and sufficiently lacking in moral values you can live a
life of wealth and privilege by victimizing others, and if your gravy train
should ever derail you can adopt an "every man for himself" attitude and
save your own skin by ratting on your associates.

Butch O'Hare was suitably honored when the Chicago airport known as Orchard
Depot was renamed O'Hare International in 1949. It's unfortunate that he and
the airport have to share the O'Hare name with his unscrupulous father.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/ohare.asp