“ A Great Story”

Edward (Easy Eddie) J. O’Hare was the lawyer for Al Capone, the notorious Chicago mobster. “In November 1939 Easy Eddie was shot to death most likely by Al Capone’s gunmen. During Capone’s tax evasion trial in 1931 and 1932, O’Hare had provided incriminating evidence which helped finally put Capone away. There is speculation that this was done to ensure that his son Butch got into the Naval Academy, or to set a good example; it certainly at least partly involved an attempt to distance himself from Capone’s activities. Whatever the motivation, the elder O’Hare was shot down in his car, a week before Capone was released from incarceration.”  Woe, what a nice Advent story…..but there’s more to the story. 

The O’Hares were actually from St. Louis not Chicago. Butch had met and fallen in love with Rita Wooster a nurse, and asked her to marry him …  she said she was Catholic and could only marry a Catholic. Butch converted and they were married in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Phoenix. Immediately after the wedding, Butch had to report back to his squadron aboard the USS Saratoga carrier.

“A Navy pilot, Butch O’Hare’s act of bravery was credited with saving the USS Lexington, and he was personally congratulated by President Roosevelt for his courage during a White House ceremony where he was awarded the Medal of Honor.” Eddie Junior won many other honors and was later killed in combat. 

I find this an intriguing story. The son of Al Capone’s lawyer ends up being a hero and national figure. Another scenario would have had Butch as Al Capone’s next lawyer or goon. Yet each of us has a chance to do something great for God and for mankind despite where we start. On December 20, 1943, a Solemn Pontifical Mass of Requiem was offered for Butch O’Hare at the St. Louis Cathedral. 

Oh by the way, the next time you’re stuck in Chicago’s airport, wander over to Terminal 2 where you’ll see a replica of one of Butch’s planes that he flew in the war. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, one of the largest in the world, is named after Butch O’Hare, the son of Al Capone’s lawyer. What a great ending to a story. I bet Butch was a Cardinal fan. More importantly, I hope he’s in heaven.