This is COOL!
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 Cityblock. 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. He decided he would go to the authorities
and tell the truth about Al
"Scarface" Capone.
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 Lexingtonin 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
were 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 dove
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?