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. His last day on earth was a heroic one. His squadron was sent on a mission, but soon after he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would have to turn back.
Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the, he saw a coming horde of Japanese aircraft. They were speeding their way toward the defenseless American fleet.
All of the others were out on a sortie, so it was just him. But that was no detterent. He dove into the formation of Japanese planes, his 50 caliber guns firing away. When all of his ammuition was spent, he tried to clip tails or wings with his prop. No plane was safe. Five aircraft were downed. Countless others, crippled.
Frustrated, wounded and decimated, the squadron called off the attack and returned home.
He continued to fly and was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. He was awarded the Congressional Medal Honor, the nation’s highest.
His hometown named an airport after him. You might have heard of it — O’Hare Airport in Chicago.
And Chicago. This was the same town that Al Capone owned. It was Butch O’Hare’s father — Eddie — who was Capone’s personal lawyer, the one mentioned in yesterday’s post.
Eddie O’Hare helped Capone skirt the law, hide money, and invest in shady operations for years. He lived off the fruits of crime until his own consicience and the awful reality that his son was watching got the best of him. Eddie eventually brought down Capone, so that his son would see that indeed, redemption was possible.
I’ve not always been the best father. In fact, my words were always grand, but my actions were sometimes weak. My rhetoric was bold holy, my actions cowardly human.
And now that they are grown, I wonder about the redemption message. I wonder what they learned. I wonder about what kind of example I’ve been. Will they trust God? Will they see past my imperfections and see Him? I have so much regret.
Then I think about the gangsters lawyer. And his son, the hero.
Then I think about the gangsters lawyer. And his son, the hero.
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
Read all past issues at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidrupert
Read all past issues at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidrupert
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