[BITList] Two Stories - BOTH are true and VERY interesting

[FA]

/*_Two Stories - BOTH are true and VERY interesting_*/
/*__*/
/*_STORY NUMBER ONE_*/
/Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't 
famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy 
city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder./
/Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for 
a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal 
/maneuvering/ kept Big Al out of jail for a long time../
/To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the 
money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he 
and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of 
the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an 
entire Chicago City block./
/Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little 
consideration to the atrocity that went on around him./
/Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved 
dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good 
education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object../
/And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to 
teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than 
he was./
/Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he 
couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example./
/One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to 
rectify wrongs he had done./
/He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al 
"Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some 
semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The 
Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified./
/Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a 
lonely Chicago Street ... But in his eyes, he had given his son the 
greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. 
Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious 
medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine./
/The poem read:/
/"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell 
just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only 
time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For 
the clock may soon be still."/
/*__*/
/__/
/*_STORY NUMBER TWO_*/
/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./
/One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was 
airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had 
forgotten to top off his fuel tank./
/He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to 
his ship./
/His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he 
dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet./
/As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned 
his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way 
toward the American fleet./
/The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but 
defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time 
to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching 
danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from 
the fleet./
/Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the 
formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he 
charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch 
wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes 
as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent./
/Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to 
clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as 
possible, rendering them unfit to fly./
/Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction/
/Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to 
the carrier./
/Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his 
return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. 
It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He 
had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft/
/This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became 
the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the 
Medal of Honor./
/A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His 
home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and 
today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of 
this great man./
/So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some 
thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal 
of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2./
/*__*/
/__/
/*_SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?_*/
/*Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.*/
/(Pretty cool, eh)/








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