EASY EDDIE AND BUTCH O'HARE - A LEGACY RESTORED

-
Eddie and Butch Ohare
  Edward Joseph O'hare aka "Easy Eddie" was the lawyer for Al Capone. He was very skilled at keeping his only client out of jail during his career as one of America's most notorious organized crime bosses during the 1920's and 30's. Eddie was paid a very lucrative salary by Capone that enabled him to live a lavish lifestyle. He had a home that filled an entire city block in Chicago. Easy Eddie had two children, a son and a daughter. Then one day he decided to rat out Al Capone. He had been a part of Capone's illegal activities and could see that the Feds were going to get Capone one way or another and by turning states evidence he might be able to keep from going to prison himself. It was his testimony that helped nail Capone for income tax evasion. Capone was arrested and sent to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary and later to Alcatraz. Eddie was able to avoid prison but not a mob hit. One thing that you don't do is rat out the mob. He was gunned down by two shotgun blasts as he drove home on a Chicago street, November 8, 1939.

  Butch O'hare was the son of"Easy Eddie"and was born on March 13, 1914. His parents sent him to a military academy at the age of 13. He was accepted at the U.S. Naval Academy and after graduation Butch became a naval aviator. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he was assigned to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington. On February 20, 1942 a Japanese spotter plane discovered the Lexington but was shot down. However it was able to alert the Japanese of the Lexington's presence. The Japanese sent out two waves of bombers. The first wave was shot down by American Wildcats. Butch and his wingman took on the second wave by themselves. The wingman's guns jammed and he returned to the carrier. Butch was left to fight the second wave of nine bombers alone. The other fighters were too far away to help. Skilfully using his ammunition he attacked full throttle and shot down five Japanese bombers. Just as he ran out of ammunition the rest of his squadron caught up with him and splashed the remaining planes before they could damage the Lexington. For his bravery he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Butch was sent home to raise money on War Bond tours. In late 1943 he was sent back to the Pacific where he saw more combat. On a night mission in November 1943 Butch was killed. It is not known exactly how he died. Some believe that he may have been shot down by friendly fire during the confusion of fighting at night. Butch O'hare was able to redeem the honor of his family name. As a result of his bravery one of the busiest airports in the world was named in his honor. Chicago's O'hare International Airport. 
Al Capone

Easy Eddie's car after being shot


Butch O'hare

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE DEATH OF JAYNE MANSFIELD

-
Image
Jayne Mansfield   Jayne Mansfield died way too young on June 29, 1967 at the age of 34 in a gruesome car wreck, She was killed instantly but contrary to urban legend she was not decapitated. Jayne was called the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She had enjoyed about a four year stint of popularity on Broadway and in Hollywood from 1954 until 1958. Her career was in decline in the late 50's and early 60's but she was still popular in Europe and on the nightclub circuit. She took her last name from her high school sweetheart Paul Mansfield when she married him at the age of seventeen. Her second husband was a former Mr. Universe named Mickey Hargitay who was from Norway. The third and last husband was Matt Cimber. Mansfield was highly educated, attending Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas and U.C.L.A. She supposedly had an IQ of 163 and was called the smartest dumb blonde ever. Of course she couldn't be too smart. In 1966, a year before her death, while
Read more

CARNTON PLANTATION

-
Image
   My first association with the Carnton Plantation in Franklin was when I would see the old house while hunting for Civil War relics in the early 1970's. There is a subdivision near Carnton today in the area where I hunted when it was primarily farm land. I knew it was an antebellum home but I wasn't aware of how historic Carnton was. It was in a horrible state of disrepair and I have learned since then that a farmer was using the house as his hay barn. In 1977 the owner of the property donated the house and ten acres to the Carnton Association and they have done a fantastic job of restoring the plantation to it's former glory. Originally the McGavock's owned 1400 acres. It was built by Randall McGavock in the 1820's. He was mayor of Nashville and a close friend of Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk. Jackson on several occasions was an overnight guest in the home.    His son John took over the plantation in 1843 upon the death of Randall. In 1848 John mar
Read more

NASHVILLE AND JESSE JAMES

-
Image
The James brothers with their mother Zerelda James   Most everyone has heard of the notorious outlaws Jesse and Frank James, however; did you know that they lived in Nashville from 1875 until March 1881? Jesse's oldest son Jesse James Jr. was born in Nashville along with his sister Mary. Jesse Jr. was born at 606 Boscobel Street on August 31, 1875. Mary was born on West Hamilton Road in Bordeaux on July 17, 1879. Jesse Jr. went by the name Tim and as far as he knew his last name was Howard. He and his sister would not know their real last names until after Jesse was killed in 1882. Jesse and his wife Zerelda would also lose two male twins in infancy.  Jesse's brother Frank lived on Clarksville Pike. While living there he and his wife Annie Ralston James gave birth to a son named Robert Franklin on February 6, 1877. For a time he would be dressed as a girl and go by the name of Mary. Why his parents did this I do not know.  The brothers were on the run. Nashville was
Read more