Lawyer for the Mob and O’Hare International

Thanks to Larry and Susan Koralweski for this interesting story.

Easy Eddie

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a talented lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept the gangster 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, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with domestic servants and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire city block in Chicago.

Eddie lived the high life along with the mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that went on around him. 
He did have one soft spot, however, that was for his son whom he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that the boy had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld.  Money was no object.

Despite his own involvement with organized crime, Eddie tried to steer his son toward an honest life. He absolutely wanted the lad to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give to his son: he couldn’t leave him a father’s good example and he couldn’t pass on a good name.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. It was time to rectify the 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 fatherly 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. 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.


Butch O’Hare

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare, a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. O’Hare had been raised in St. Louis by a non-Catholic mother, a divorcee, but he converted to the Catholic Faith through the influence of his fiancée, Rita Wooster, and, after the marriage, they moved to Chicago. One February day, in 1942, as the war raged, O’Hare’s 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, leaving him without enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to the Lexington. He was ordered to pull out and 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 was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the naval fleet was all but defenseless.  He had no time to reach his squadron and bring them back to engage the enemy. 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 calibers blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation, using his own patented-style of aerial maneuvers, and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault without bullets. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, 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.

The brave Lieutenant Commander reported to his superior 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. 
For his incredible courage and skill in air combat action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of WW II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed when his plan was hit by a Japanese gunner while in flight combat. He was twenty-nine years-old. His hometown would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and so today, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O’Hare, 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?

Butch O’Hare was “Easy Eddie’s” son.