Two Stories BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!

Two Stories BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!

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 Capone's 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, as well. 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 atrocities 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 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; he couldn't pass on a good name or 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 'Sacrifice's 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 could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets 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 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 its 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 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 all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, 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.

o'hare is a really nice airport if you haven't been there....
an interesting thing about capone...he owned quite a bit of property in florida as well
in fact i live 4 miles from one of his former safe-houses. he would stop in this town on his way to south florida and play cards at the firehouse here. there is a sub-division that went up across the street from that firehouse 5 years ago, when they dredged the lake they found 2 cars and remains....evidence of capones cruelty. oddly enough this subdivision is also located on a very old indian burial site and people often find arrowheads and other artifacts that surface...

i remember watching a WWII documentary about that battle (i think it was an episode of battle 360) and one of the pilots mentioned being in that squadron with o'hare...

Really inspiring stories Br.John. These are the type of stories where your heart jumps a beat and you ask yourself what am I doing at the moment. Those are the types of stories in which the many would like to be a part of but only the few do. They speak of the same courage I mentioned in another post concerning Leonidas and the 300 spartans. And they are not just stories but true.

Wow, I had no idea about O`Hare airport. I have been there, it just seemed an ordinary airport just like the rest, but that it had a story to tell I had no idea.

on a somewhat related matter, my stepdad's father was an RMC(radioman chief) on board the USS Arizona when it was bombed in Pearl Harbor....he survived the battle, my mom's father was in vietnam and korea, my genetic father was in vietnam, i'm a veteran of the first gulf war, i had family members that fought on the side of germany in WWI and before WWII started hitler tried to get them to finance his efforts when they refused he stripped them of thier titles, land, and set them to be executed so they fled to the U.S. and fought against germany. my mom's great-uncle was governer dewey from new york, the same governor dewey that ran against harry truman for president....every generation of my family except for my mom's(the hippie generation) has had members in the military, my cousin is an MP in iraq, and i have a nephew serving in afghanistan...courage runs deep in my family you could say.

Wow thats quite a story RyuJinn. There are certain many untold stories of heroes. Ones that we should hear about. Funny about you mentioning having realives on both sides, I had also two grandfathers on both sides of the WWII who both died in action.