Aboard the Lexington was U.S. Navy fighter pilot Lt. Edward (Butch)O’Hare, attached to Fighting Squadron 3 when the United States entered the World War II. As the Lexington left Bougainville, the largest of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific (and still free from Japanese control), for Rabaul, ship radar picked up Japanese bombers headed straight for the carrier. The Japanese were now in prime striking position for the Solomon Islands, next on the agenda for expanding their ever-growing Pacific empire. The Lexington‘s mission was to destabilize the Japanese position on Rabaul with a bombing raid.
O’Hare and his team went into action, piloting F4F Wildcats. In a mere four minutes, O’Hare shot down five Japanese G4M1 Betty bombers–bringing a swift end to the Japanese attack and earning O’Hare the designation “ace” (given to any pilot who had five or more downed enemy planes to his credit). The Lexington blew back the Japanese bombers, the element of surprise was gone, and the attempt to raid Rabaul was aborted for the time being. O’Hare was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery–and excellent aim.
Butch was the son of famous Chicago attorney, Edward O’ Hare. The lawyer made a fortune representing Owen Smith, the inventor of mechanical dog racing and commissioner of the International Greyhound Racing Association. His contacts led to his involvement with gangster, Al Capone.
A fallout with Capone led O’ Hare to assist the Internal Revenue Service in working to convict Capone of tax evasion. O'Hare directed investigator Frank Wilson, helping break the code used in the ledgers by Capone's bookkeepers. At the start of Capone's trial in the court of Judge James Wilkerson, O'Hare tipped the government that Capone had fixed the jury. Thus alerted, Judge Wilkerson switched juries with another federal trial before the Capone trial began. Capone was found guilty and sent to prison in 1933.
Having helped eliminate Al Capone, a favor to Edward O’ Hare helped him get his son Butch, accepted to the Naval Academy. Edward was hoping the son could bring honor to the family after a decade of underworld activity.
Just one week before Al Capone was to be released from Alcatraz , Edward O’ Hare was gunned down on November 8, 1939 after leaving Sportsman's Park racetrack in Cicero, Illinois. The two shotgun-wielding gunmen were never captured, and the case remains unsolved.
On January 27, 1945 the United States Navy named a Gearing-class destroyer USS O'Hare in his honor. The ship was launched June 22, 1945 with his mother, Selma O’Hare, as the sponsor. On September 19, 1949, the Chicago-area Orchard Depot Airport was renamed O'Hare International Airport. In March 1963, President John F. Kennedy did a wreath-laying ceremony at O'Hare Airport to honor Butch O'Hare.
Like his father, Butch’s death is still a mystery. He may have been killed by "friendly fire. " Butch O’ Hare exceeded the dreams of his father, earning a Purple Heart, Navy Cross and Medal of Honor.
Paul Murphy
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
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