View source for Edward O'Hare

{{short description|US Navy Medal of Honor recipient (1914–1943)}}
{{for|his father, the lawyer of Al Capone|Edward J. O'Hare}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Edward O'Hare
|image= Butch O'Hare.jpg
|image_size= 
|caption= Lieutenant Edward "Butch" O'Hare in a [[Grumman F4F|Grumman F4F-3]] Wildcat. The wartime censor has blanked out the famous "[[Felix the Cat]]" squadron insignia on this photo ([https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/18/e9/53/18e953c294bdcb2b88b7c85853b72f99.jpg colorized] photo).
|nickname= "Butch"
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1914|3|13}}
|birth_place= [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S.
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1943|11|26|1914|3|13}}
|death_place= Near the [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands|Gilbert Islands]]{{KIA}}
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= United States
|branch= [[United States Navy]]
|serviceyears= 1937–1943
|rank= [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant commander]]
|unit= 
|commands= Fighting 3 (VF-3), Air Group 6
|battles= [[World War II]]
* [[Pacific War]]
** [[Action off Bougainville]]
|awards=
{{plainlist|
* [[File:Medal of Honor ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Medal of Honor]]
* [[File:Navy Cross ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Cross]]
* [[File:Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] (2)
* [[File:Purple Heart BAR.svg|35px]] [[Purple Heart]]
}}
|relations= 
|laterwork= 
}}
[[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] '''Edward Henry O'Hare''' (March 13, 1914 – November 26, 1943) was an American [[naval aviator]] of the [[United States Navy]], who on February 20, 1942, became the Navy's first [[fighter ace]] of the war when he single-handedly attacked a formation of nine medium bombers approaching his aircraft carrier. Although he had a limited amount of ammunition, O'Hare was credited with shooting down five enemy bombers and became the first naval aviator recipient of the [[Medal of Honor]] in [[World War II]].<ref>[https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=131994 "Navy.togetherweserved: O'Hare, Edward Henry, LCDR"]</ref>

O'Hare's final action took place on the night of November 26, 1943, while he was leading the U.S. Navy's first-ever nighttime fighter attack launched from an aircraft carrier. During this encounter with a group of Japanese [[torpedo bombers]], O'Hare's [[Grumman F6F Hellcat]] was shot down; his aircraft was never found. A radio message was sent out, but there was no response. In 1945, the U.S. Navy destroyer {{USS|O'Hare|DD-889}} was named in his honor.

On September 19, 1949, the Chicago-area Orchard Field Airport was renamed [[O'Hare International Airport]], six years after O'Hare perished. An F4F Wildcat, in a livery identical to the aircraft ("White F-15") flown by O'Hare, is on display in Terminal 2. The display was formally opened on the seventy-fifth anniversary of his Medal of Honor flight.<ref>[https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/02/17/ohare-airport-celebrates-75th-anniversary-of-namesakes-heroic-flight/ O’Hare Airport Celebrates 75th Anniversary Of Namesake’s Heroic Flight]</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:USS Saratoga (CV-3) underway, circa in 1942 (80-G-K-459).jpg|thumb|right|The aircraft carrier USS ''Saratoga'']]
[[File:Edward O'Hare as Annapolis cadet.jpg|100px|thumb|left|O'Hare as 2/C [[midshipman]] at the Naval Academy, 1935]]
[[File:Ensign Edward OHare.jpg|thumb|100px|left|[[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] O'Hare]]
Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare was born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], the son of Selma Anna (Lauth) and [[Edward J. O'Hare|Edward Joseph O'Hare]]. He was of Irish and German descent. Butch had two sisters, Patricia and Marilyn. When their parents divorced in 1927, Butch and his sisters stayed with Selma in St. Louis while Edward moved to Chicago. Butch's father was a lawyer who worked closely with [[Al Capone]] before turning against him and helping convict Capone of [[tax evasion]].<ref>[http://www.acepilots.com/usn_ohare.html "Acepilots: Lt. Cdr. Edward "Butch" O'Hare"]</ref>

Butch O'Hare graduated from the [[Western Military Academy]] in 1932. The following year, he went on to the [[United States Naval Academy]] at [[Annapolis, Maryland]]. After O'Hare graduated and was commissioned as an [[ensign (rank)|ensign]] on June 3, 1937, he served two years on the battleship {{USS|New Mexico|BB-40|6}}. In 1939, O'Hare started flight training at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola|NAS Pensacola]] in [[Florida]], flying the Naval Aircraft Factory [[N3N|N3N-1]] "Yellow Peril" and [[Boeing-Stearman Model 75|Stearman]] NS-1 biplane trainers, and later the advanced [[T-6 Texan|SNJ]] trainer. On the nimble [[Boeing F4B|Boeing F4B-4A]], he trained in aerobatics as well as aerial gunnery. O'Hare also flew the [[SBU Corsair]] and the [[TBD Devastator]].<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 87, 88.</ref>

In November 1939, O'Hare's father was shot and killed, most likely by Al Capone's gunmen. During Capone's tax evasion trial in 1931 and 1932, Edward O'Hare had provided incriminating evidence which helped finally put Capone away. There is [[Edward J. O'Hare#Chicago|speculation]] that this was done to ensure that 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 and killed while driving his car a week before Capone was released from incarceration.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:F2A-1 VF-3 CV-3 Felix the Cat.jpg|thumb|right|F2A-1 Buffalo from USS ''Saratoga'' (CV-3).]] -->

When Butch finished his [[naval aviation]] training on May 2, 1940,<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=February 26, 2010 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o2/ohare_.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040315001434/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o2/ohare_.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 15, 2004 |title=Naval Historical Center – O'Hare }}</ref> he was assigned to [[VF-6|Fighter Squadron Three (VF-3)]] on board {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}}. O'Hare then trained on the [[Grumman F3F]] and then graduated to the [[Brewster F2A]] Buffalo. Lieutenant [[John Thach]], then [[executive officer]] of VF-3, discovered O'Hare's exceptional flying abilities and closely mentored the promising young pilot.<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 93-94.</ref> Thach, who would later develop the [[Thach Weave]] aerial combat tactic, emphasized gunnery in his training. In 1941, more than half of all VF-3 pilots, including O'Hare, earned the "E" for gunnery excellence.

In early 1941, VF-3 transferred to {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6}}, while carrier<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 97.</ref> ''Saratoga'' underwent maintenance and overhaul work at [[Bremerton Navy Yard]].
[[File:Pilots of US Navy Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3) on 5 March 1942.jpg|thumb|right|VF-3: Front row, second from right: Lt. Edward Butch O'Hare]]

On Monday morning, July 21, O'Hare made his first flight in a [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]]. Following stops in Washington and Dayton, he landed in [[St. Louis]] the next day. Visiting the wife of a friend in hospital that afternoon, O'Hare met his future wife, nurse Rita Wooster, proposing to her the first time they met. After O'Hare took instruction in [[Roman Catholicism]] to [[Religious conversion|convert]], he and Rita married in St. Mary's Catholic Church in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] on Saturday, September 6, 1941. For their honeymoon, they sailed to Hawaii on separate ships, Butch on ''Saratoga'', which had completed modifications at Bremerton, and Rita on the [[Matson Navigation Company|Matson]] liner {{SS|Lurline|1932|2}}. Butch was called to duty the day after the Japanese [[attacked Pearl Harbor]].

On Sunday evening, January 11, 1942, as Butch and other VF-3 officers ate dinner in the wardroom, the carrier ''Saratoga'' was damaged by a Japanese torpedo hit while patrolling southwest of Hawaii. She spent five months in repair on the west coast, so VF-3 squadron transferred to the {{USS|Lexington|CV-2|6}} on January 31.

==World War II service==

===Medal of Honor flight===
[[File:Edward Ohare.jpg|thumb|right|O'Hare stands beside an F4F-3 Wildcat (note leather cowboy belt instead of GI standard issue tan military web belt).]]
[[File:Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats of VF-3 in flight off Oahu on 10 April 1942 (80-G-10613).jpg|thumb|right|F4F-3A Wildcats flown by LCDR. [[John Thach]] (F-1) and Lt. O'Hare (F-13) during the aerial photography flight of April 11, 1942.]]
[[File:Mitsubishi G4M Betty.jpg|thumb|Mitsubishi G4M "Betty"]]
[[File:Mitsubishi G4M Betty splashed.jpg|thumb|right|Photo (taken later in the war) of a shot down Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty", the same type of Japanese bomber Lt. O'Hare intercepted on the 20th]]O'Hare's most famous flight occurred during the [[Pacific War]] on February 20, 1942. He and his [[wingman]] were the only U.S. Navy fighters available when a second wave of Japanese bombers were attacking his aircraft carrier ''Lexington''.

O'Hare was on board the aircraft carrier ''Lexington'', which had been assigned the task of penetrating enemy-held waters north of [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]]. While still {{convert|450|mi}} from the harbor at [[Rabaul]], at 10:15, the ''Lexington'' picked up an unknown aircraft on radar {{convert|35|mi}} from the ship. A six-plane combat patrol was launched, two fighters being directed to investigate the contact. These two planes, under command of LCDR. [[John Thach]], shot down a four-engined [[Kawanishi H6K]]4 Type 97 ("Mavis") flying boat about {{convert|43|mi}} out at 11:12. Later two other planes of the combat patrol were sent to another radar contact {{convert|35|mi}} ahead, shooting down a second "Mavis" at 12:02. A third contact was made {{convert|80|mi}} out, but reversed course and disappeared. At 15:42, a jagged vee signal drew the attention of the ''Lexington''{{'}}s radar operator. The contact then was lost but reappeared at 16:25 {{convert|47|mi}} west. O'Hare, flying F4F Wildcat BuNo 4031 "White F-15", was one of several pilots launched to intercept nine Japanese [[Mitsubishi G4M]] "Betty" bombers from the 4th [[Kōkūtai]]'s 2nd Chutai.<ref>Shores, Cull, Izawa, p. 186-188</ref>  O'Hare's squadmates shot down eight bombers (with the ninth falling to an SBD later), but he and his wingman, [[Marion William Dufilho|Marion "Duff" Dufilho]], were held back in the event of a second attack.

At 16:49, the ''Lexington''{{'}}s radar picked up a second formation of "Bettys" from the 4th Kōkūtai's 1st Chutai,<ref>Shores, Cull, Izawa, pp. 186-189</ref> only {{convert|12|mi}} out, on the disengaged side of the task force.<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 129.</ref> With the majority of VF-3 still chasing the 2nd Chutai, only O'Hare and Dufilho were available to intercept. Flying eastward they arrived {{convert|1,500|ft|m}} above the "Bettys" {{convert|9|mi}} out at 17:00. Dufilho's guns jammed, leaving only O'Hare to protect the carrier. The enemy was in a V-of-Vs formation, flying very close together and using their rear-facing [[Type 99 cannon|20mm cannon]] for mutual protection. O'Hare's Wildcat was armed with four [[M2 Browning#Aircraft guns|50-caliber guns]], with 450 rounds per gun, giving him about 10 three-second bursts.

O'Hare's initial maneuver was a high-side diving attack from the formation's starboard side employing [[Deflection (ballistics)|deflection shooting]]. He managed to hit the outside "Betty"{{'}}s right engine<ref>Shores, Cull, Izawa, p. 189</ref> and wing fuel tanks; when the stricken craft of Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryosuke Kogiku (3rd Shotai)<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p. 130">Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p. 130</ref> abruptly lurched to starboard, he switched to the next plane up the line, that of Petty Officer 1st Class Koji Maeda (3rd Shotai leader).<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p. 130"/> Maeda's plane caught fire, but his crew managed to put out the flames with "one single spurt of liquid&nbsp;... from the fire-extinguisher"<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p. 130"/> Both Maeda and Kogiku would catch up with the group before bomb release.

With two "Bettys" out of formation (albeit temporarily), O'Hare began his second firing pass, this time from the port side. His first target was the outside plane, flown by Petty Officer 1st Class Bin Mori (2nd Shotai). O'Hare's bullets damaged the right engine and left fuel tank, forcing Mori to dump his bombs and abort his mission.<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p.131">Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p.131</ref> O'Hare then targeted the plane of Petty Officer 1st Class Susumu Uchiyama (1st Shotai),<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p.131"/> which became his first definite kill.

As O'Hare began his third firing pass, again from the port side, the remaining "Bettys" were nearing their bomb release point. First, O'Hare shot down Lieutenant (junior grade) Akira Mitani (2nd Shotai leader).<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom, 134.</ref> This left the lead plane, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Takuzo Ito,<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p.124</ref> exposed. O'Hare's concentrated fire caused the plane's port engine [[nacelle]] to break free from its mountings and fall from the plane. The resulting explosion was so violent that the 1st Chutai pilots were convinced that an anti-aircraft burst had struck their commander's plane.<ref>Lundstrom, p.103</ref> With a gaping hole in its left wing, Ito's plane fell out of formation.

Shortly afterwards, O'Hare made a fourth firing pass, likely against Maeda (who had now caught up), but ran out of ammunition. Frustrated, he pulled away to allow the ships to fire their anti-aircraft guns. The four surviving bombers dropped their ordnance, but all their [[List of Japanese World War II navy bombs|250 kg bombs]] missed.<ref>Shores, Cull, Izawa, p. 191</ref> O'Hare believed he had shot down six bombers and damaged a seventh. Captain Sherman would later reduce this to five, as four of the reported nine bombers were still overhead when he pulled off.<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, p.140</ref> Thach, hurrying towards the scene with reinforcements after mopping up the 2nd ''Chûtai'', saw three enemy bombers falling in flames at the same time.<ref>[http://www.acepilots.com/usn_ohare.html "Acepilots: Saving the ''Lexington''"]</ref>

In fact, O'Hare destroyed only three "Bettys": Uchiyama's, Mitani's, and Ito's. The last plane, however, was not yet finished. Ito's command pilot, Warrant Officer Chuzo Watanabe,<ref group=n name=note1>Group leader Takuzo Ito was not piloting his own "Betty". As per standard practice in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service|IJNAF]], the pilot was an enlisted man, and the commander of the plane was an observer and/or navigator.</ref> regained enough control to level his damaged plane and attempted to crash it into ''Lexington''. He missed, and flew into the water near the carrier at 17:12. Another three "Bettys" were damaged by O'Hare's attacks. Of these, Maeda and Kogiku safely landed at Vunakanau airdrome at 19:50, while Mori became lost in a storm and eventually ditched at Simpson Harbor at 20:10.<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1997, 136-137</ref>

With his ammunition expended, O'Hare returned to his carrier, and was fired on accidentally but with no effect by a .50-caliber machine gun from the ''Lexington''. O'Hare's fighter had, in fact, been hit by only one bullet during his flight, the single bullet hole in F-15's port wing disabling the airspeed indicator. According to Thach, O'Hare then approached the gun platform to calmly say to the embarrassed anti-aircraft gunner who had fired at him, "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."<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 138.</ref>

In the opinion of Admiral Brown and of Captain [[Frederick C. Sherman]], commanding the ''Lexington'', Lieutenant O'Hare's actions may have saved the carrier from serious damage or even loss. By 19:00 all ''Lexington'' planes had been recovered except for two F4F-3 Wildcats shot down while attacking enemy bombers; both were lost while making steady, no-deflection runs from astern of their targets. The pilot of one fighter was rescued, the other went down with his aircraft.

The F4F Wildcat O'Hare flew was BuNo. 4031 as discovered in his aviator’s logbook, while its side number was found out to be F-15 based on Captain Burt Stanley's diary. After ''Lexington'' returned to port, 4031 was transferred to VF-2 and flew from ''Lexington'' at Coral Sea. It was one of the six VF-2 Wildcats to survive ''Lexington''‘s sinking, as it landed on ''Yorktown''. After Coral Sea, it served in VF-42 and later Marine Air Group 23 before being struck off charge in July 1944.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lundstrom |first1=John B. |title=The first team : Pacific naval air combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway |date=1984 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Md. |isbn=0-87021-189-7 |page=473}}</ref>

===Accolades===
[[File:Butch OHare March1942 PressConference with Thach at hawaiian hotel.jpg|100px|thumb|LT Edward O'Hare at press conference with LCDR John Thach and reporters at the [[Royal Hawaiian Hotel]] on March 26, 1942]]
On March 26, O'Hare was greeted at Pearl Harbor by a horde of reporters and radio announcers. During a radio broadcast in Honolulu, he enjoyed the opportunity to say hello to his wife Rita ("Here's a great big radio hug, the best I can do under the circumstances") and to his mother ("Love from me to you").<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom, p. 151" >Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 151.</ref> On April 8, he thanked the [[Grumman]] Aircraft Corporation plant at [[Bethpage, New York|Bethpage]] (where the F4F Wildcat was made) for 1,150 cartons of [[Lucky Strike]] cigarettes, a grand total of 230,000 smokes. Ecstatic Grumman workers had passed the hat to buy the cigarettes in appreciation of O'Hare's combat victories in one of their F4F Wildcats. A loyal [[Camel (cigarette)|Camel]] smoker, O'Hare opened a carton, deciding that it was the least he could do for the good people back in Bethpage. In his letter to the Grumman employees he wrote, "You build them, we'll fly them and between us, we can't be beaten." It was a sentiment he would voice often in the following two months.<ref name="Ewing and Lundstrom, p. 151"/>

Credited with shooting down five bombers, O'Hare became a [[flying ace]], was selected for promotion to [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]], and became the first naval aviator to receive the [[Medal of Honor]]. With President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] looking on, O'Hare's wife Rita placed the Medal around his neck. After receiving the Medal of Honor, then-Lieutenant O'Hare was described as "modest, inarticulate, humorous, terribly nice and more than a little embarrassed by the whole thing".<ref>''Aviation History'', November 1995.</ref>

O'Hare received further decorations later in 1943<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/myhero/LCDR_Edward_Henry_Butch_OHare.html |title=homeofheroes.com article on decorations |access-date=March 25, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050516012000/http://www.homeofheroes.com/myhero/LCDR_Edward_Henry_Butch_OHare.html |archive-date=May 16, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> for actions in battles near [[Marcus Island]] in August and subsequent missions near [[Wake Island]] in October.

===Non-combat duty===
[[File:Butch M450.jpg|thumb|Publicity shot of O'Hare, wearing tie and life vest, standing in the cockpit of a Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat ([[Media:Lt Edward H. Butch O'Hare, 1942.jpg|''different'']] ''version of photo'')]]
O'Hare was not employed on combat duty from early 1942 until late 1943. Important events in this period included flying an F4F-3A Wildcat (BuNo 3986 "White F-13") as Lieutenant Commander 'Jimmy' Thach's wingman for publicity footage on April 11, 1942, the Medal of Honor presentation at the White House on April 21, and the welcome parade in O'Hare's hometown on Saturday, April 25, 1942.

The welcome parade was held in St. Louis. At the starting point, O'Hare, wearing the blue-ribboned Medal of Honor around his neck, was guided to the back seat of a black open [[Packard]] Phaeton, where he sat between his wife Rita and his mother Selma. The parade began at noon, led by a police motorcycle escort, then came the band from Jefferson Barracks, marching veterans, a truck packed with photographers, O'Hare's Phaeton (with a six-man Marine honor guard alongside) and other open cars. Bringing up the rear was the entire 350-member student body of Western Military Academy. St. Louis Mayor [[William Dee Becker]] presented O'Hare with a gold navigator's four-dial watch engraved with the words "To Lt. Commander Edward H. O'Hare, USN, from a proud and grateful City of St. Louis, April 25, 1942".<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 163.</ref> As O'Hare's mother and his sisters clipped newspaper stories and photos the following days, his place in history began to dawn on them. A newspaper headline read, "60,000 give O'Hare a hero's welcome here." The United States in 1942 badly needed a live hero, and Butch O'Hare was a young, handsome naval aviator, so he participated in several [[war bond]] tours the following months.

On June 19, 1942, O'Hare assumed command of VF-3, relieving Lieutenant Commander Thach.<ref>[http://www.leisuregalleries.com/oharedoc1.html Copy of original document, "The Commander, VF-3"]</ref> He was relocated to [[Maui, Hawaii]], to instruct other pilots in combat tactics. U.S. Navy policy was to use its best combat pilots to train newer pilots, in contrast to the Japanese practice of keeping their best pilots flying combat missions. Ensign [[Edward L. Feightner|Edward L. "Whitey" Feightner]], who served with O'Hare in July 1942, later said<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3897/is_199904/ai_n8838204 "Flight Journal April 1999: Memoirs from an aviator's logbook"]</ref> that one of the best pieces of information O'Hare passed on to him, was:
{{blockquote|If you ever jump one of these Zeros and you surprise him, remember, the first thing he's going to do is a loop. Don't follow him into it! By the time you go into it a second time, he'll be behind you. The first thing you should do when he starts up the loop is to make a hard right turn and keep turning. You'll come right around, and when he bottoms out of the loop, you'll be right on his tail!"}}

O'Hare also related

{{blockquote|First of all, remember, in today's world, whenever you take off and engage the enemy, you're going to be outnumbered. If you want to survive this war, you have to look behind you every chance you get. Even when you pull the trigger, be sure to look behind because there's gonna be someone back there.}}

An [[anecdote]] about O'Hare, serving as an instructor on Hawaii mid-1942:<ref>April 1999 "Flight Journal" article ''"8 A.M., JULY 1942, MAUI. Swimming and serving with Butch O'Hare"'', personal memoirs of RADM (USN Ret.) Edward L. Feightner.</ref>

{{blockquote|[O'Hare] was a great swimmer and [[spearfishing|spearfisherman]], and he insisted that the squadron swim with him. Swimming with Butch O'Hare meant that at eight o'clock in the morning, you swam out into the ocean off Maui; he would still be out there at three in the afternoon! If he got hungry, Butch would roll over and dive, and the next thing you knew, he would come up with a fish of some sort. Then he'd just roll over and lie on his back like an otter and eat the thing raw! He really impressed us with that! One day, he came back to the surface with an octopus draped over his arm. He said, "Now, you have to learn how to kill these things, boys: you bite 'em right behind the eye." And with that, he chomped down! The octopus has some sort of spinal cord there, and biting it there does kill it! Then we had to go back to the beach where Butch would put these things in a frying pan with a little oil and some salt and stir them around. He enjoyed them, but they tasted like old rubber tires to me!}}
[[File:Felix-Three-big.jpg|thumb|right|LT O'Hare's F4F-3 Wildcat carrying the "[[Felix the Cat]]" insignia (1942)]]
On March 2, 1943, O'Hare met Rita in [[San Diego, California]] and hugged his one-month-old daughter, Kathleen, for the first time. His family resided in [[Coronado, California|Coronado]] at 549 Orange Avenue, near [[North Island NAS]]. At the end of March 1943, O'Hare made Ensign [[Alexander Vraciu]], a young Naval Reservist just out of flight school, his wingman. On July 15, VF-3 swapped designations with VF-6 squadron.

===Return to combat===
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2011}}
Equipped with the highly successful follow-on to the Wildcat, the new [[Grumman F6F Hellcat|Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat]], two-thirds of VF-6 (twenty-four F6F-3s) under O'Hare's command embarked on August 22, 1943, on the light carrier {{USS|Independence|CVL-22|6}}.<ref>[http://www.herschpahlbooks.com/album/35.shtml "Butch O'Hare from Stars & Stripes '43 while reforming his new squadron"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318155324/http://www.herschpahlbooks.com/album/35.shtml |date=March 18, 2007 }}</ref> The arrival of the F6Fs with their powerful [[Pratt & Whitney R-2800]] [[radial engine]]s in late 1943, combined with the deployment of the new {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|0}} carriers and the {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|0}} carriers, immediately gave the U.S. Pacific Fleet air supremacy wherever the Fast Carrier Force operated. The Hellcat's first combat mission occurred on August 31, 1943, in a strike against [[Marcus Island]]. The F6F did well against Japanese fighters and proved that with the right tactics and teamwork the Japanese Zero need not be considered a superior enemy. VF-6's combat debut on the ''Independence'' also went reasonably well. For his actions in battles near Marcus Island on August 31, O'Hare was awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]].<ref>[http://www.herschpahlbooks.com/album/24.shtml "O'Hare and his Division for Sept '43 raid on Marcus Island"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318155343/http://www.herschpahlbooks.com/album/24.shtml |date=March 18, 2007 }}</ref> For his actions in subsequent missions near Wake Island on October 5, O'Hare was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Flying Cross.<ref>[http://www.flychicago.com/events/KidsPage2006/OHareBiography.shtm Flychicago: "Citation: Gold Star in lieu of second DFC"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061024163009/http://www.flychicago.com/events/KidsPage2006/OHareBiography.shtm |date=October 24, 2006 }}</ref>
[[File:Butch leading Crew Chief Williams.jpg|thumb|right|O'Hare and leading crew chief Williams "Chief Willy" beside a F6F-3 Hellcat talk things over at Wake, October 5, 1943.]]
[[File:Butch OHare F6F-3.jpg|thumb|right|O'Hare as Air Group Six Commander in the cockpit of a Grumman F6F-3 (1943)]]
On October 10, 1943, O'Hare flew with VF-6<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 211-216.</ref> again in the airstrikes against Wake Island. On this mission, the future ace Lt.(jg) Alex Vraciu was his wingman – both Butch and Vraciu shot down one enemy plane that day. When they came across an enemy formation Butch took the outside aeroplane and Vraciu took the inside plane. Butch went below the clouds to get a Japanese [[Mitsubishi Zero]] and Vraciu lost him, so Vraciu kept an eye on a second Zero that went to Wake Island and landed. Vraciu [[strafing|strafed]] the Zero on the ground, then saw a "Betty" bomber and shot it down. Upon returning to the carrier, O'Hare asked Vraciu where he went and Vraciu knew then that he should have definitely stayed with his leader. Alex Vraciu later said<ref>Alex Vraciu, guest speaker at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927051106/http://www.goldengatewing.org/proptalk/speaker.cfm?ID=48 "Golden Gate Wing monthly dinner meeting"] of the [[Commemorative Air Force]] on February 22, 2001.</ref> after the war, "O'Hare taught many of the squadron members little things that would later save their lives. One example was to swivel your neck before starting a strafing run to make sure enemy fighters were not on your tail." Vraciu also learned from O'Hare the "high side pass" used for attacking the G4M "Betty" bombers. The high side technique was used to avoid the lethal 20&nbsp;mm fire of the "Betty"{{'}}s tail gunner. The Wake Island raid would be the last occasion Butch would lead VF-6 in battle. According to orders dated September 17, 1943, October found O'Hare as [[Commander, Air Group|Commander Air Group (CAG)]] commanding Air Group Six, embarked on USS ''Enterprise''. Functioning as CAG, O'Hare was given command of the entire ''Enterprise'' air group: Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]] dive bombers, [[Grumman TBF Avenger]] torpedo bombers and 100 pilots.

Now overseeing three squadrons, O'Hare still insisted that everyone call him "Butch". O'Hare's VF-6 squadron would "still stay broken up" among three [[light aircraft carrier]]s, the squadron had made itself just too useful filling out the light carrier air groups, and AirPac had no well-trained replacements on hand. As a result, Fighting Squadron Two (VF-2) boarded the USS ''Enterprise'' from November 1943 and became Butch's new Fighting Squadron. While he readied his new air group, he suffered what he intended as only a temporary separation from his beloved VF-6 "Felix the Cat" Squadron. The news, that the commanding officer had to leave them, hit the men of VF-6 hard. O'Hare first flew a TBM-1 Avenger as CAG-6 command aircraft with bombardier Del Delchamps, AOM1/c and radioman Hal Coleman as crew members. With its good radio facilities, docile handling, and long-range, the Grumman Avenger made an ideal command aircraft for Air Group Commanders (CAGs), but Butch considered the Grumman torpedo bomber as a 'lame turkey' compared to the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter.

Later [[Arthur W. Radford|Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford]] honored a request from O'Hare to take a fighter as command aircraft instead of the Avenger, so O'Hare in a fateful decision happily drew Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat Bureau Number 66168 from the fleet pool to become his principal CAG plane, numbered "00".<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 221.</ref> From 20 – November 23, 1943, the U.S. forces landed in the [[Gilberts]] ([[Battle of Tarawa|Tarawa]] and [[Battle of Makin|Makin]]), and the ''Enterprise'' joined in providing close air support to the Marines landing on Makin Island. Equipped with the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the U.S. Navy fighter pilots could protect the fleet from attacking Japanese aircraft.

===Final mission and death===
[[File:TBM Avengers warming up aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6), May 1944.jpg|thumb|right|Avengers warming up on ''Enterprise'']]
[[File:F6F 1944 Jan.jpg|thumb|Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats preparing for take-off]]
Faced with U.S. daylight [[air superiority]], the Japanese quickly developed tactics to send<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 257-262.</ref> torpedo-armed "Betty" bombers on night missions from their bases in the [[Marianas]] against the U.S. aircraft carriers. In late November they launched these low-altitude strikes almost nightly to attack ''Enterprise'' and other American ships, so Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford, O'Hare and [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Tom Hamilton (coach)|Tom Hamilton]], CV-6 air officer, were deeply involved in developing ad hoc counter-tactics, the first carrier-based night fighter operations of the U.S. Navy. O'Hare's plan required the carrier's Fighter Director Officer (FDO) to spot incoming enemy formations at a distance and send a "Bat Team" section consisting of a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber and two Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters toward the Japanese intruders. Although improvements in new types of aviation [[radar]] were soon forthcoming from the engineers at MIT and the electronic industry, the available primitive radars in 1943 were very bulky, attributed to the fact that they contained [[vacuum tube]] technology. Radars were carried only on the roomy TBF Avengers, but not on the smaller and faster Hellcats, so the radar-equipped TBF Avenger would lead the Hellcats into position behind the incoming bombers, close enough for the F6F pilots to spot visually the blue exhaust flames of the Japanese bombers. Finally, the Hellcats would close in and shoot down the torpedo-carrying bombers.

One of the four "Bat Team" fighter pilots to conduct these experimental night fighter operations to intercept and destroy enemy bombers attacking Allied landing forces was then-LT [[Roy Marlin Voris]], who after the war founded and commanded the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the [[Blue Angels#History|Blue Angels]].

On the night of November 26, 1943, the ''Enterprise'' introduced the experiment in the co-operative control of Avengers and Hellcats for night fighting, when the three-plane team from the ship broke up a large group of land-based bombers attacking Task Group TG 50.2. O'Hare volunteered to lead this mission to conduct the first-ever Navy nighttime fighter attack from an aircraft carrier to intercept a large force of enemy torpedo bombers. When the call came to man the fighters, Butch O'Hare was eating. He grabbed up part of his supper in his fist and started running for the ready room. He was dressed in loose marine coveralls. The night fighter unit consisting of 1 VT and 2 VF was catapulted between 17:58 and 18:01. The pilots for this flight were Butch O'Hare and Ensign Warren Andrew "Andy" Skon of VF-2 in F6Fs and the Squadron Commander of VT-6, LCDR John C. Phillips<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cv6.org/noumea/default.asp?uri=detail%2Fawo-img-z--1000119 |title=LCMDR. John Phillips |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729202053/http://www.cv6.org/noumea/default.asp?uri=detail/awo-img-z--1000119 |archive-date=July 29, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in a TBF-1C. The crew of the TBF torpedo plane consisted of LTJG Hazen B. Rand, a radar specialist and Alvin Kernan, A. B., AOM1/c. The "Black Panthers", as the night fighters were dubbed, took off before dusk and flew out into the incoming mass of Japanese planes.

Confusion and complications endangered the success of the mission. The Hellcats first had trouble finding the Avenger, the FDO had difficulty guiding any of them on the targets. O'Hare and Ensign W. Skon in their F6F Hellcats finally got into position behind the Avenger. Butch O'Hare had been well aware of the deadly danger of [[friendly fire]] in this situation – he radioed to the Avenger pilot of his section, "Hey, Phil, turn those running lights on. I want to be sure it's a yellow devil I'm drilling."<ref>[http://www.cv6.org/news/43-11.htm "Enterprise CV-6 News & Bulletins – November 1943"]</ref>

O'Hare was last seen at the 5 o'clock position of the TBF. About that time, the turret gunner of the TBF, Alvin Kernan (AOM1/c) noticed a Japanese G4M "Betty" bomber above and almost directly behind O'Hare's 6 o'clock position.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060824082601/http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/4408/tbfturret6if.jpg Photo of TBF turret gun]</ref> Kernan opened fire with the TBF's .50 cal. machine gun in the dorsal turret and a Japanese gunner fired back. O'Hare's F6F Hellcat apparently was caught in a crossfire. Seconds later O'Hare's F6F slid out of formation to port, pushing slightly ahead at about {{convert|160|kn}} and then vanished in the dark. The Avenger pilot, Lieutenant Commander Phillips, called repeatedly to O'Hare, but received no reply. Ensign Skon responded:<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 282.</ref> "Mr Phillips, this is Skon. I saw Mr O'Hare's lights go out and, at the same instant, he seemed to veer off and slant down into darkness." Phillips later asserted, as the Hellcat dropped out of view, it seemed to release something that fell almost vertically at a speed too slow for anything but a parachute. Then something "whitish-gray" appeared below, perhaps the splash of the aircraft plunging into the sea.

Lieutenant Commander Phillips reported the position ({{coord|1|26|0|N|171|56|0|W|display=inline|type:landmark|name=Place where O'hare's aircraft went down.}}) to the ship. After dawn, a three-plane search was made, but no trace of O'Hare or his aircraft were found. On November 29, a [[PBY Catalina]] flying boat also conducted a search with no positive result, and O'Hare was reported missing in action.<ref>[http://www.cv6.org/news/43-11.htm cv6.org article]</ref>

In 1997, ''Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O'Hare'', by Steve Ewing and John B. Lundstrom, the authors claim that Japanese guns, and not Kernan's, killed O'Hare, stating that "Butch fell to his old familiar adversary, a Betty. Most likely he died from or was immediately disabled by, a lucky shot from the forward observer crouched in the ''rikko's'' [Betty's] forward glassed-in nose&nbsp;... the nose gunner's 7.7&nbsp;mm slugs very likely penetrated Butch's cockpit from above on the port side and ahead of the F6F's armor plate."<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 289.</ref> Ewing and Lundstrom state that Kernan is "wrongly accused of shooting down Butch."<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987</ref> Ewing and Lundstrom point out that the "most influential and oft-cited" account of O'Hare's last mission came in a 1962 history of the ''Enterprise'' by CDR Edward P. Stafford, which relied on action reports and recollections of former ''Enterprise'' crew, but did not contain interviews with any of the living participants. By contrast, Ewing and Lundstrom interviewed the still-living survivors of O'Hare's last mission: F6F pilot Skon, TBF radar officer Rand, and TBF gunner Kernan. Ewing and Lundstrom write, "Through Stafford and other accounts based largely on the action reports, Butch has wrongly become known as one of America's most famous 'friendly fire' casualties."<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 1987, p. 290-291.</ref>

On December 9, the official word arrived that O'Hare was missing in action. His mother Selma left for San Diego to be with his wife Rita and his daughter Kathleen. LCDR Bob Jackson wrote to Rita O'Hare from the ''Enterprise'' to describe the extensive but unsuccessful search for her husband. In the letter, LCDR Jackson quoted RADM Arthur W. Radford saying of Butch O'Hare that he "never saw one individual so universally liked."<ref name="Magazine">{{cite magazine |author=Offner, Larry |date=July 2005 |url=http://www.stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/July-2005/The-Butch-OHare-Story |title=The Butch O'Hare Story |magazine=[[St. Louis Magazine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927092100/http://www.stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/July-2005/The-Butch-OHare-Story/ |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> The hardest thing O'Hare's former wingman Alex Vraciu had to do was to talk to O'Hare's wife Rita after returning stateside.<ref>Alex Vraciu as a guest speaker at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927051106/http://www.goldengatewing.org/proptalk/speaker.cfm?ID=48 "Golden Gate Wing monthly dinner meeting"] of the [[Commemorative Air Force]] on February 22, 2001.</ref> On December 20, 1943, a [[Solemn Pontifical Mass]] of [[Requiem]] was offered for Butch O'Hare at the [[Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis|St. Louis Cathedral]].<ref name="Magazine"/>

As O'Hare went missing on November 26, 1943, and was declared dead a year later, his widow Rita received her husband's [[Posthumous recognition|posthumous]] decorations, a [[Purple Heart]] and the [[Navy Cross]] on November 26, 1944.

==Honors and awards==
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Naval Aviator Badge.png|width=205|alt=}}
|-
|colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Medal_of_Honor_ribbon.svg||width=110}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Navy_Cross_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|other_device=|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|other_device=|ribbon=Combat_Action_Ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|other_device=|ribbon=United_States_Navy_Presidential_Unit_Citation_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|other_device=|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific_Campaign_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="3"|[[United States Aviator Badge|Naval Aviator Badge]]
|-
|colspan="3"|[[Medal of Honor]]
|-
|[[Navy Cross]]
|[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]<br/>w/ one {{frac|5|16}}" Gold Star
|[[Purple Heart]]
|-
|[[Combat Action Ribbon]]
|[[Navy Presidential Unit Citation]]
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]<br/>w/ three {{frac|3|16}}" bronze stars
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|}

===Medal of Honor citation===
[[File:Fdr ohare moh.jpg|thumb|right|Medal of Honor presentation on April 21, 1942: President Roosevelt, [[Frank Knox]], [[Secretary of the Navy]] (behind FDR), [[Ernest King|Admiral Ernest King]], Edward O'Hare and his wife Rita]]

{{blockquote|For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in aerial combat, at grave risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron 3 on February 20, 1942. Having lost the assistance of his teammates, Lieutenant O'Hare interposed his fighter between his ship and an advancing enemy formation of 9 attacking twin-engine heavy bombers. Without hesitation, alone and unaided, he repeatedly attacked this enemy formation, at close range in the face of intense combined machine gun and cannon fire. Despite this concentrated opposition, Lieutenant O'Hare, by his gallant and courageous action, his extremely skilful marksmanship in making the most of every shot of his limited amount of ammunition, shot down 5 enemy bombers and severely damaged a sixth before they reached the bomb release point. As a result of his gallant action—one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation—he undoubtedly saved his carrier from serious damage.<ref name=AMOHW>{{Cite web |access-date = February 26, 2010 |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html |title = Medal of Honor recipients |work = World War II (M – S) |publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |date = June 8, 2009 |archive-date = April 30, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080430113840/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref group=n name=note2>In 1942 O'Hare and the U.S. Navy thought that nine planes constituted the second wave, but actually there were only eight, as confirmed by Japanese war records. In addition to this, the Japanese Mitsubishi G4M ''Betty'' bomber was only a [[medium bomber]], not a [[heavy bomber]], as stated wrong in the MOH citation.</ref>}}

===Navy Cross citation===
{{blockquote|The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare (NSN: 0-78672), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron TWO (VF-2), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), and deployed over Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, in action against enemy Japanese forces on 26 November 1943. When warnings were received of the approach of a large force of Japanese torpedo bombers, Lieutenant Commander O'Hare volunteered to lead a fighter section of aircraft from his carrier, the first time such a mission had been attempted at night, in order to intercept the attackers. He fearlessly led his three-plane group into combat against a large formation of hostile aircraft and assisted in shooting down two Japanese aeroplanes and dispersed the remainder. Lieutenant Commander O'Hare's outstanding courage, daring airmanship and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.<ref name=hallofvalor>{{Hall of Valor|745|access-date=February 26, 2010}}</ref>}}

===USS ''O'Hare''===
On January 27, 1945, the United States Navy named a {{sclass|Gearing|destroyer}} {{USS|O'Hare|DD-889|6}} in his honor. The ship was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] June 22, 1945, with his mother, Selma O'Hare, as the sponsor.<ref name=USSOhare>{{Cite web |access-date=February 26, 2010 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o2/ohare_.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040315001434/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o2/ohare_.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 15, 2004 |title=O'Hare |publisher=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]] }}</ref> ''O'Hare'' was decommissioned on October 31, 1973, then transferred on loan and later sold to the [[Spanish Navy]]. In 1992, the Spanish Navy decommissioned and scrapped the ship.<ref name=USSOhare/>

===O'Hare International Airport===
[[File:F4F-3WildcatOHareAirport-DLighting.jpg|thumb|[[Grumman F4F Wildcat|Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat]] on display in O'Hare's Terminal 2, restored in the markings of "Butch" O'Hare's plane]]
Colonel [[Robert R. McCormick]], publisher of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', suggested that the name of [[Chicago|Chicago's]] Orchard Depot Airport be changed as a tribute to O'Hare. On September 19, 1949, the airport was renamed [[O'Hare International Airport]] to honor O'Hare's bravery. The airport displays a Grumman F4F-3<ref>{{Cite web
 |access-date  = July 25, 2008
|url         = http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/jinxx1/F4F%20Wildcat/F4F-3123202.jpg
 |title       = Airport aircraft exhibit, F4F-3 Wildcat (Bu. No. 12320)
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080813154337/http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/jinxx1/F4F%20Wildcat/F4F-3123202.jpg
 |archive-date = August 13, 2008
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |access-date= July 25, 2008 |url=http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5362/ordairportf4fhi4.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127052639/http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5362/ordairportf4fhi4.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |title=Airport aircraft exhibit, cockpit of F4F-3 Wildcat (Bu. No. 12320)}}</ref> like the one flown during the Medal of Honor action.

The Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat on display was recovered virtually intact from the bottom of Lake Michigan, where it sank after a training accident in 1943 when it went off the training aircraft carrier {{USS|Wolverine|IX-64|6}}. In 2001, the Air Classics Museum remodeled the aircraft to replicate the F4F-3 Wildcat that O'Hare flew on his Medal of Honor flight.<ref>[http://www.airclassicsmuseum.org/Archive%20Articles/Wild%20about%20Wildcats.htm Wild About Wildcats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710205256/http://www.airclassicsmuseum.org/Archive%20Articles/Wild%20about%20Wildcats.htm |date=July 10, 2007 }} by Vic Caricato</ref> The restored Wildcat is exhibited in the west end of Terminal 2 behind the security checkpoint to honor O'Hare International Airport's namesake.

===Other honors===
In September 1949, O'Hare's name was engraved on the [[National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific]] "Wall of the Missing"<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=February 26, 2010 |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesites/states/images_go/ohare_edward_hi.jpg |title=Wall of the Missing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326111334/http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesites/states/images_go/ohare_edward_hi.jpg |archive-date=March 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in Honolulu. In March 1963, President [[John F. Kennedy]] performed a wreath-laying ceremony at O'Hare Airport<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=February 26, 2010 |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3286.html |title=JFK at wreath-laying ceremony}}</ref> to honor Butch O'Hare. The Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum is honoring O'Hare with an F4F-3A on display and a plaque<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=February 26, 2010 |url=http://img287.imageshack.us/img287/3537/patriotspointohare9if.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824082601/http://img287.imageshack.us/img287/3537/patriotspointohare9if.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 24, 2006 |title=Plaque USS ''Yorktown'' CV-10 association}}</ref> dedicated by the USS ''Yorktown'' CV-10 association, "May Butch O'Hare rest in peace&nbsp;...".

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[Edward J. O'Hare]]
*[[List of aviators]]
*[[List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II#O|List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II]]
*[[List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
*"Air Classics", May 2003.
*{{Cite book |author=Ewing, Steve |author2=Lundstrom, John B. |title=Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O'Hare |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1997 |isbn=1-55750-247-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/fatefulrendezvou00ewin }}
*{{Cite book |access-date=February 26, 2010 |author=Lundstrom, John B. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xtaTS-POl-UC |title=The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway |location= Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1984 |isbn= 0-87021-189-7}}
*{{Cite book |author=Reynolds, Clark G. |title=The Carrier War (Time-Life Epic of Flight series) |location=Alexandria, Virginia |publisher=Time-Life Books |year=1982 |isbn=0-8094-3304-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/carrierwar00reyn }}
*"Edward Butch O'Hare". ''Legends of Airpower'' DVD, Episode #309. Frederick, MD: 3 Roads Communications, Inc., 2003.
*{{Cite magazine |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932631,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224172709/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932631,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 24, 2007 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=December 20, 1943 |volume=42 |issue=25 |title=World Battlefronts: Butch O'Hare}}
*Shores, Christopher & Cull, Brian & Izawa, Yasuho ''Krvavá jatka II''. Plzeň, Czech Republic: Mustang, 1995, {{ISBN|80-85831-73-2}} (Czech translation of English ''Bloody Shambles Volume Two: The Complete Account of the Air War in the Far East, from the Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma, 1942'')
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{Cite web
 |access-date=February 26, 2010
|url=http://www.acepilots.com/usn_ohare.html
 |title=Edward 'Butch' O'Hare – WWII Ace 2003
}}
*{{Find a Grave|18251|work=Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients|access-date=May 6, 2006}}
*{{Cite web
 |access-date   = March 8, 2006
|url          = http://www.homeofheroes.com/myhero/LCDR_Edward_Henry_Butch_OHare.html
 |title        = LCDR Edward Henry 'Butch' O'Hare
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20050516012000/http://www.homeofheroes.com/myhero/LCDR_Edward_Henry_Butch_OHare.html
 |archive-date = May 16, 2005
 |url-status     = dead
}}
*{{Cite web
 |access-date= November 29, 2004
|url=http://www.snopes.com/glurge/ohare.asp
 |title=Empire of the Son
|date=April 10, 2000
 }}
*Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/yEKJgPewG6Y Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150716034712/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKJgPewG6Y Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web
 |access-date= July 25, 2008
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKJgPewG6Y
 |title=A St. Louis Profile – Videobiography of O'Hare by Producer J. Kirchherr (25min)
| website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}}
*{{Cite web
 |access-date= June 6, 2010
|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/pers-us/uspers-o/e-ohare.htm
 |title=Naval History and Heritage Command
}}

{{Authority control}}

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