Sixty Years Ago ...
Dateline
- February 1942: Pacific Theater
Lt. Cmdr.
Edward 'Butch' O'Hare, U.S. Navy
First
Navy Ace - Medal of Honor Winner
THE BATTLE OF USS LEXINGTON
by Jennifer
King and Timothy Rollins
Reflections on World War II
A
Special Note to Our Readers: From time to time as we cover the events of
the war, there comes along one who really stands out heads and shoulders above
his comrades, and in this case it is Lt. (and later Lt. Cmdr.) Edward ("Butch")
O'Hare. From the moment he took to the cockpit of a naval aircraft, it seems
that everyone who knew him realized he was something special in the air.
O'Hare's feats of heroism in the air was unparalleled in World War II and set a standard for moral courage that in many respects remains unmatched and will forever be remembered as one who made the ultimate sacrifice in order that others may live. For that, he has the thanks of a grateful nation. - Jennifer and Tim
Edward
H. ("Butch") O'Hare (shown, right) was born in St. Louis, Missouri on 13 March
1914, the son of E.J. O'Hare, a wealthy businessman and attorney. A graduate
of the Western Military Academy, he went on at 19 to attend the Naval Academy
at Annapolis, Maryland. In 1939, he started flight training at NAS Pensacola
(Florida), learning the basics on N3N-1 and Stearman NS-1 biplane trainers.
Tragedy first struck his family in November of that year when his father died at the hands of Al Capone's gunmen, most likely because he had given the government information useful in its prosecution of Capone. The gangland-style murder made big headlines, and the newspapers printed numerous speculations on the circumstances of the murder.
On February 20, 1942, O'Hare was on board the carrier Lexington when his skills were needed and he stepped up to the plate when he was needed the most.
.gif)
The
carrier Lexington (photo, left) had been assigned the dangerous task
of penetrating enemy-held waters north of New Ireland. From there her planes
were to make a strike at Japanese shipping in the harbor at Rabaul. Unfortunately,
while still 400 miles from Rabaul, the Lexington was discovered by a
giant four-engine Kawanishi flying boat. Lieutenant Commander John
Thach, skipper of the Lexington's Wildcat fighters, shot down the
Japanese "Snooper," but not before it had radioed the carrier's position. That
afternoon Commander Thach led six Wildcats into the air to intercept nine twin-engine
enemy bombers. In a determined attack each of the Wildcats destroyed a bomber
and damaged two more. The ship's anti-aircraft guns finished off the rest. In
the meantime, nine more Japanese bombers were reported on the way. Six Wildcats,
one of them piloted by Butch O'Hare, roared off the Lexington's deck
to stop them. O'Hare and his wingman spotted the V formation of bombers first
and dived to try to head them off. The other F4F pilots were too far away to
reach most of the enemy planes before they released their bombs. As if this
weren't bad enough, O'Hare's wingman discovered his guns were jammed. He was
forced to turn away. Butch O'Hare stood alone between the Lexington and
the bombers.
O'Hare didn't hesitate. Full throttle, he roared into the enemy formation. While tracers from the concentrated fire of the nine bombers streaked around him, he took careful aim at the starboard engine of the last plane in the V and squeezed his trigger. Slugs from the Wildcats six .50-caliber guns ripped into the Japanese bomber's wing and the engine literally jumped out of its mountings. The bomber spun crazily toward the sea as O'Hare's guns tore up another enemy plane. Then he ducked to the other side of the formation and smashed the port engine of the last Japanese plane there.
One by one he attacked the oncoming bombers until five had been downed. Commander Thach later reported that at one point he saw three of the bombers falling in flames at the same time. By now Thach and the other pilots had joined the fight. This was lucky because O'Hare was out of ammunition. The Wildcats took care of several more bombers and Lexington managed to evade the few bombs that were released. It was an amazing example of daring and shooting skill. Afterward Thach figured out that Butch O'Hare had used only sixty rounds of ammunition for each plane he destroyed. He had probably saved his ship. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and awarded the nation's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. The citation read as follows:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to
LIEUTENANT
EDWARD
HENRY O'HARE
UNITED STATES NAVY
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy. Born: 13 March 1914, St. Louis, Mo. Entered service at: St. Louis, Mo. Other Navy awards: Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 gold star. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat, at grave risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron 3 on 20 February 1942. Having lost the assistance of his teammates, Lt. O'Hare interposed his plane between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of 9 attacking 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. Despite this concentrated opposition, Lt. O'Hare, by his gallant and courageous action, his extremely skillful marksmanship in making the most of every shot of his limited amount of ammunition, shot down 5 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.
With his Medal of Honor presentation, bond tours, and other commitments, Butch was out of combat from early 1942 until late 1943. On October 10, 1943, he flew with VF-6 in the air strikes against Wake Island. On this mission Alex Vraciu, the future ace, was Butch's section leader. Both O'Hare and Vraciu scored that day.
Just over a month after returning to combat, in November 1943, O'Hare volunteered to lead his squadron on a daring mission to conduct the first-ever Navy nighttime fighter attack from an aircraft carrier. After receiving the go-ahead from his Admiral, O'Hare led the first fighter section to intercept a large force of enemy torpedo bombers, but his plane was lost in enemy action and never found. He was just 29 years old. On November 27, 1944, Butch O'Hare was declared dead. The U.S. Navy recognized his unparalleled bravery with the Navy Cross award. He is also listed in the Navy Memorial Foundation.
After Butch O'Hare's death, he was further honored in 1949 when Orchard Field in Chicago was renamed O'Hare International Airport, which until recently surpassed by Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, held the distinction of being the world's busiest airport. Having traveled to Chicago numerous times and my first trip to Chicago having been by air, I remember the original F4F-3 Wildcat they had on display there.
The story behind the plane was that it had been recovered from Lake Michigan by the United States Navy and donated to the Air Classics Museum. The plane was restored to replicate the one flown by Butch O'Hare. Sponsored by the City of Chicago and McDonald's Corporation, the recovered F4F-3 Wildcat is exhibited in Terminal Two at the West end of the ticketing lobby to honor the extraordinarily heroic feats of O'Hare International Airport's namesake. ***
© 2002 Jennifer King and Timothy Rollins
COPYRIGHT © 2002 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN. All writers retain rights to their work.
Home | About Us | Archives | Forums | Links | Resources | Submissions | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer