I have read stories about heroism ever since I can remember. Most of it got my interest but only liked few and these two are meant to be shared. As for most, we have different definitions of hero and who we call hero with great pride, but these heroic stories will surely give meaning to family pride.

 Many years ago, Al Capone was a very influential man though he wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from booze and prostitution to murder, together with his so-called mob. Capone had a lawyer which he calls “Easy Eddie”, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Al out of jail for a very long time. Added to his perks, Capone paid him very well as well as special dividends, mansion, wheels, and all the conveniences of the day.

 Eddie gave his family the best of everything but often times he would wonder about his son, he couldn’t pass on a good name and a good example. After some time, Eddie reached a difficult decision and wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. Eddie decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Capone, clean us his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against an angry, trigger-happy mob.

Within the year, Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a Chicago Street. He had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay.

The next story was probably the one of the many stories that were never told. World War II had produced a lot of heroes but not just the World War II alone. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare whom his patriotism and heroism was molded by a man he looked up to.

Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day, his entire squadron was sent to a mission. After airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank, it was impossible to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier.

He dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning, he saw a squadron of Japanese aircraft speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a mission, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save their fleet nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

He dove into the formation of Japanese planes, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. He wove in and out of the broken formation and fired as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. He dove at the planes trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the Japanese squadron took-off in another direction. And for his act of heroism, he became the Navy’s first Ace of World War 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 29.

So what do these two stories have to do with each other? Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son. So the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, give some thought to visit Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor.