US Navy LCDR Butch O'Hare: WII Medal of Honor Recipient

Intro

Welcome back everyone.  On today’s episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who turned an unremarkable Naval Academy stay into a more than remarkable Naval career.  A man who faced eight Japanese planes alone, single handedly thwarting an enemy attack against his aircraft carrier.  A man who was credited with the development of nighttime naval fighter tactics.  This is the story of Medal of Honor Recipient Lt Commander Butch O’Hare.

Navy Career

Edward Henry O’Hare, who would go by Butch, was born on March 13, 1914 in St. Louis, to parents Selma and Edward O’Hare.  When he was 14, his parents divorced.  Butch and his two sisters remained in St. Louis with their mother, while their father moved to Chicago.  In Chicago, his father was an attorney and his biggest client was the infamous gangster, Al Capone.  Edward eventually turned on his client and was a big reason Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion.

Butch attended the Western Military Academy in Alton, IL before he was selected to attend the US Naval Academy.  There he was an unremarkable student and graduated 255th out of 323 students, but he still received his commission as an ensign on June 3, 1937.  He served aboard the battleship USS New Mexico for two years before he started flight training at NAS Pensacola.  He earned his wings of gold on May 2, 1940 and he was assigned to the USS Saratoga and then to the USS Enterprise the following year. 

After flying many types of training aircraft, he was finally seated in the plane that he would later earn the Medal of Honor in, the Grumman F4F-E  Wildcat.  Around this time he was also promoted to lieutenant junior grade. 

While back home in St. Louis, LTJG O’Hare met his future wife Rita Wooster.  He fell in love immediately and proposed to her on their first date, and just a few months later, they were married on September 6, 1941.  They chose to honeymoon in Hawaii, and after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, O’Hare was called back to active duty.  

On January 11, 1942 O’Hare, who was promoted to lieutenant by now, was assigned to the fighter squadron VF-3 aboard the USS Saratoga as it patrolled southwest of Hawaii when it was hit by a Japanese torpedo.  The damage to the ship was extensive and the Saratoga was sent to the west coast for repairs.  His fighter squadron was then transferred to the USS Lexington  

On February 20, 1942 LT O’Hare, his squadron, and the Lexington were fighting in the Pacific.  That day, they were off the coast of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea when radar picked up two waves of Japanese bombers heading straight towards them.  The Lexington immediately scrambled six fighters to intercept the first wave.  They were able to down most of the Japanese aircraft and eventually break up the formation.  While this was going on, the second wave of bombers continued unopposed towards the Lexington.      

With most aircraft busy dealing with the first wave, there were only two pilots available to intercept the second wave of eight Japanese bombers.  The only two men who were close enough to engage the enemy were LT O’Hare and his wingman  LT William “Duff” Dufiho. 

The two Navy pilots approached 1,500 feet above the enemy formation.  They dove and prepared to attack when LT Dufiho’s guns jammed, leaving only LT O’Hare to stop the enemy formation, now just 9 miles from the Lexington.

The bombers were flying in a tight formation and were protected by their rear-facing 20mm cannons.  

Felix the Cat, the Wildcat that LT O’Hare was piloting, was armed with four .50 caliber guns with a 450 round capacity per gun.  Though this sounds like a lot, it actually only allowed LT O’Hare to fire 10 three second bursts of fire.

LT O’Hare was able to hit two Japanese bombers, which temporarily forced them out of formation.  Turning to the main formation, he made continual passes, targeting the closest bomber each time.  As the fighting approached the Lexington, he also had to avoid friendly fire from the ship. 

Of the eight bombers in the second attack wave, LT O’Hare was able to shoot down five of them and damage a sixth.  

LT O’Hare was forced to return to the Lexington when he ran out of ammo.  As he approached, he again had to avoid friendly fire as a gunner on board mistook him for a Japanese plane.  Once he landed safely on the flight deck, he approached the apologetic gunner who fired on him and said "Son, if you don't stop shooting at me when I've got my wheels down, I'm going to have to report you to the gunnery officer."

With those five aerial victories, LT O’Hare became the Navy’s first fighter ace of the war.  Beyond his courage, the most remarkable skill he exhibited was his aim.  It was estimated that he only needed roughly 60 rounds for each bomber that he shot down, a remarkable feat that was noted by all.

On April 21, 1942, with President Roosevelt standing beside them, his wife Rita placed the Medal of Honor upon him for his actions that day.  In addition to the Medal of Honor, O’Hare was promoted to lieutenant commander.

Lt commander O’Hare spent some time stateside on a publicity and war bond tour, before returning to the war in June 1942.  He was given command of the fighter squadron VF-6.  The squadron had replaced most of the F4F Wildcats with the F6F-3 Hellcat.  The Hellcat was credited with giving the US aerial superiority and LT O’Hare was awarded the distinguished flying cross on two separate occasions.   This superiority, especially during the day, forced the Japanese to employ nighttime attacks on US ships.   LT Commander O’Hare was directly involved in developing counter-tactics against these night time attacks. 

On November 26,1943, Lt Commander O’Hare took off from the USS Enterprise on the first night time fighter plane attack launched from a carrier in US Naval history, volunteering to lead the attack himself.  In the fight that ensued he was credited with downing two Japanese planes.  During the battle, Lt commander found himself between an American TBF Avenger and a Japanese “Betty” bomber.  As the planes shot at each other, LT commander O’Hare was caught in the crossfire and was hit.  His Hellcat was last seen breaking away into the darkness.  The area was searched for days, but neither Lt commander O’Hare nor his plane was ever seen again.  He was first declared MIA and the KIA in January 1944.   For his heroism that day, he was awarded the Navy Cross.

Lt Commander Butch O’Hare left behind his wife Rita and daughter Kathleen.  His legacy continued on with the Navy naming a destroyer the USS O’Hare in his honor.  In addition, in 1949, Chicago renamed Orchard Depot Airport to O’Hare International Airport. 

Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare stands as a beacon of courage and heroism, a testament to the extraordinary feats that can be achieved through dedication, skill, and an unwavering commitment to duty.  His remarkable bravery not only earned him the Medal of Honor but also inspired countless others to strive for excellence and selflessness. 

Outro

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  To read more about this week’s hero, check out the sources used in today's episode in our show notes and at dutyandvalor.com.  

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