The Link Between an Infamous Crime Figure and a War Hero
One of the biggest American airports bears his name
“Having lost the assistance of his teammates, Lieutenant O’Hare interposed his plane between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of…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…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.”
— Medal of Honor Citation for Edward “Butch” O’Hare
According to Steve Ewing and John B. Lundstrom in their book Fateful Rendezvous, chaos erupted on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington on February 20, 1942. A chutai, a squadron of Japanese land-based bombers, were attacking the carrier group off the coast of Papua New Guinea and all hell was breaking loose. Ed O’Hare had just managed to get his F4F Wildcat off the flight deck as a damaged Japanese bomber attempted to crash itself into the carrier on a suicide run.
