World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch OHare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

第二次世界大戰產生許多英雄, 其中一名是中尉指揮官Butch O’Hare. 他是戰鬥機的飛行員, 在南太平洋航空母艦服役。

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.

有一天他所屬的整個中隊要出任務, 在他已飛上天空之後, 看到油表才發現, 有人忘記將他的油箱加滿, 他不可能有足夠的油去完成任務再回到船上。他的飛行小隊長告訴他要返回艦上, 他很不情願地退出隊形返回艦隊。

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 couldnt 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.

當他正在返回母艦時, 突然他血液都要凝結了, 因為他看見一隊日本飛機中隊正在加速飛往美國艦隊。所有的美國戰鬥機都出勤突擊任務去了, 艦隊完全無法防衛! 他已無法趕上他的中隊並引領他們及時回來, 也沒有辦法警告艦隊正在迫近的危險, 他只有一件事可做, 就是想辦法讓日本飛機從艦隊轉向。

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers 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.

完全沒有顧慮到個人的安危, 他開進日本飛機的隊形, 機翼上架著50口徑的炮火, 他攻擊一架又一架出乎意料外的敵機。他在敵機已不成形的隊形裡穿進穿出, 盡其所能開火射擊敵機, 一直到彈藥全數用完。但他還是毫無畏懼地繼續攻擊, 衝向敵機, 企圖能毀壞更多敵機的機翼或尾巴, 讓他們無法飛行。

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch OHare 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 Butchs daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.

終於, 惱怒的日本飛機中隊飛往另一個方向。 Butch O’Hare 這才鬆口氣, 帶著他破爛的戰鬥機返回航空母艦。 回去後, 他報告回程中發生的事件, 飛機上的相機完整記錄了這個故事, 顯示Butch勇敢地嘗試去保護他的艦隊, 實際上他摧毀了五架敵機。

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navys first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional 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, OHare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

這發生於1942年2月20日, 由於這個行動讓Butch成為二次大戰海軍的第一個英雄, 第一個海軍飛行員拿到國會榮譽獎章。一年後, Butch 29歲那年死於一場空戰。他的家鄉不願讓大家對這位二次大戰的英雄印象消退, 所以芝加哥的O’Hare機場就以他為名, 作為對這位偉人的尊崇。

So, the next time you find yourself at OHare International, give some thought to visiting Butchs memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. Its located between Terminals 1 and 2.

所以, 下次您在O’Hare國際機場時, 不妨去拜訪位於Terminal 1 and 2之間的Butch紀念館, 陳列著他的雕像及榮譽獎章。

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch OHare was "Easy Eddies" son.

那麼, 這兩個故事有甚麼關聯呢? Butch O’Hare就是Easy Eddie的兒子!