Life

[sonong1]

Not Thailand but makes interesting reading hope i have not broken the rules.

Two interesting stories:

Story number 1

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 manoeuvring

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 also 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 City block. 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; he couldn't pass on a good name and 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 "Scarface" 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 wouldever 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 were speeding their way toward the

American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but

defenceless 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

Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibre'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 Honour. 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

Honour. 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!

When you have stopped sobbing, we saw the memorial to Butch O'Hare at Chicago's huge airport when we were there last year. Trains run frequently from the airport to downtown Chicago, taking about half an hour. The airport has 5 terminals, 4 in use, Terminal One purely for United Airlines. The memorial has an F4F-3 Wildcat perched on display. This plane is identical to the one O'Hare flew, but was in fact retrieved from Lake Michigan, well after it had crashed during an exercise, and restored. The story is basically correct, probably coloured a bit for extra drama. Another version of events has been learned from Google and is hereunder.

Summary of eRumor

Butch O'Hare, the war hero after whom Chicago's O'Hare airport is named, was the son of mob lawyer Eddie O'Hare.

The Truth

Lt. Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare is the subject of many articles that document his outstanding service as a pilot during World War II. He was presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions against the Japanese and defending the U.S.S. Lexington. According to the official citation of his Medal of Honor, he won the recognition "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat..." It says he was the section leader of Fighting Squadron 3 on February 20, 1942. According to an article on aviation-history.com, six Wildcats were sent into the air to protect the Lexington from Japanese bombers. O'Hare and his wingman spotted the enemy planes first. The wingman's guns jammed, however, and the other four planes were too far away, so O'Hare faced 9 twin-engine Japanese bombers alone. He shot down five of them and damaged a sixth before other U.S. fighters arrived. No enemy bombs made it to the Lexington. The Medal of Honor citation calls it "...one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation..." O'Hare was killed in November of 1943 during the battle for the Gilbert Islands in the South Pacific. He was accidentally shot down by another American plane during a night mission. It is true that Chicago's O'Hare airport is named after him and there is a restored airplane on display there similar to the one that O'Hare flew.

Butch's father, Eddie O'Hare, was an attorney and business partner of the famous gangster Al Capone. He helped run Capone's horse and dog track operation in Chicago. He was described as being devoted to his son. There was a point when Eddie decided to secretly become an informant for the Internal Revenue Service and it was with his help that the government convicted and imprisoned Capone for income tax evasion. Some have said that Eddie became an informant because of a change of heart and a desire to go straight. Others have said it was merely his way of saving his neck in the face of potential prosecution. It was an article in Collier's magazine in 1947 about Eddie O'Hare's work as an informant that helped win public favour for him and the eventual naming of Chicago's airport after his war-hero sun. The article was written by Frank J. Wilson, the Treasury Department investigator with whom O'Hare had worked on the case. The article was titled "Undercover man: he trapped Capone." Wilson called O'Hare one of his best undercover men.

Edited July 17, 2005 by sonong1

[Jimmy in Bangkok]

Great read Sonong1. Very interesting and something else I had no idea about but now do. Thanks for the effort.

[ThaiPauly]

wow thats some story, the O'hare's certainly had a code of honour that many of us mere mortals could do well to aspire to. Yes, its easy to take the money to start with, would not most of us if we are honest?

A great story, certainly not wasted on this forum as far as I am concerned.

Thank you

TP

[Jeff1]

I have to agree . Being from Chicago I know the story well .

What it does have to do with Thailand is that , we the people on this forum are living our life's to the fullest in Thailand . We are living the dream . Most people would never do what we have done .

[Thetyim]

Thanks I enjoyed reading that.

[Nam Kao]

Dont worry, there is more

http://www.nderf.org/#New%20NDEs

[siamesekitty]

Thank you sonong.. Nam Kao too. (I once did a high school report on NDEs)

[bodypaul]

O'Hare was killed in November of 1943 during the battle for the Gilbert Islands in the South Pacific. He was accidentally shot down by another American plane during a night mission.

Well well well ...... another of the limitless Yank friendly fire killings!