Bear Claw

 

O’Hare – my least favorite airport – is frequently listed among the five worst airports in the U.S. But the guy it’s named for was pretty cool. Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O'Hare was the Navy’s first fighter ace. In 1942, Butch single-handedly attacked a formation of nine medium bombers approaching his aircraft carrier. I say “attacked” because he only had enough ammo to shoot down a few bombers. The rest he rammed with his plane or harried until they ran out of fuel. Then, he crash-landed his bullet-riddled plane on the carrier and lived to tell the tale. When Butch was thirteen, his parents divorced. His sisters stayed with mom, Butch went to military school, and Dad moved to Chicago, where he became “Easy Eddie,” Al Capone’s lawyer. Easy Eddie testified against Capone in 1931, sending “Scarface” to prison. Capone’s henchmen assassinated Eddie on a Chicago street in 1939. I guess that means nerves of steel ran in the family.