From St. Louis, Missouri
Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3)
March 13, 1914 – November 26, 1943
From Butch O'Hare's Medal Of Honor citation:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Lieutenant Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare (NSN: 0-78672), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat, at grave risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3), attached to the U.S.S. LEXINGTON, on 20 February 1942. Having lost the assistance of his teammates, Lieutenant O'Hare interposed his plane between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of nine attacking twin-engine heavy bombers. Without hesitation, alone and unaided, he repeatedly attacked this enemy formation, at close range in the face of intense combined machinegun and cannon fire. Despite this concentrated opposition, Lieutenant O'Hare, by his gallant and courageous action, his extremely skillful marksmanship in making the most of every shot of his limited amount of ammunition, shot down five enemy bombers and severely damaged a sixth before they reached the bomb release point. As a result of his gallant action--one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation--he undoubtedly saved his carrier from serious damage.
The U.S. Navy's first Flying Ace. Awarded the Medal Of Honor, Navy Cross, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses & the Purple Heart. An airport and a Navy destroyer named after him. And a connection to Al Capone. You can read much more about Lt. Cmd. O'Hare here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
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1 comment:
Butch was the son of ‘Easy Eddie’ O’Hare, a lawyer who worked closely with Al Capone before turning against him and helping convict Capone of tax evasion. And Chicago’s airport is named for him - O’Hare. He was lost on the first night flight attack from a carrier and was shot down, crashing into the ocean and never recovered.
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