O'Hare Airport and the WWII connection
During the course of World War II, many people gained fame in one way or another. One of these was Butch O'Hare, a fighter pilot assigned to an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. On one occasion his entire squadron was assigned to fly a particular mission. After O'Hare was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. Because of this, he would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to leave formation and return.
As he was returning to the mothership, O'Hare could see a squadron of Japanese Zeroes heading toward the fleet to attack. With all the fighter planes gone, the fleet was almost defenseless, his was the only opportunity to distract and divert them. Single-handedly, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes and attacked them. Butch dove at them and shot until all his ammunition was gone, then he would dive and try to clip off a wing or tail or anything that would make the enemy planes unfit to fly. He did anything he could to keep them from reaching the American ships. Finally, the Japanese squadron took off in another direction, and Butch O'Hare and his fighter, both badly shot up, limped back to the carrier. The American fighter planes were rigged with cameras, so that as they flew and fought, pictures were taken so pilots could learn more about the terrain, enemy maneuvers, etc. So, even though O'Hare told his story, it was not until the film from the camera on his plane was developed, that they realized the extent he really went to, to protect his fleet. He was recognized as a hero and given one of the nation's highest military honors.
O'Hare Airport in Chicago was later named after him.
