Butch O'Hare
Saved the Lexington - single handed - against 9 Jap planes
Six Wildcats, one of them piloted by Butch O'Hare, roared off the Lexington's deck to stop them. O'Hare and his wingman spotted the V formation of bombers first and dived to try to head them off. The other F4F pilots were too far away to reach most of the enemy planes before they released their bombs. As if this weren't bad enough, O'Hare's wingman discovered his guns were jammed. He was forced to turn away. Butch O'Hare stood alone between the Lexington and the bombers.
O'Hare didn't hesitate. Full throttle, he roared into the enemy formation. While
tracers from the concentrated fire of the nine bombers streaked around him, he took
careful aim at the starboard engine of the last plane in the V and squeezed his trigger.
Slugs from the Wildcats six .50-caliber guns ripped into the Japanese bomber's wing and
the engine literally jumped out of its mountings. The bomber spun crazily toward the sea
as O'Hare's guns tore up another enemy plane. Then he ducked to the other side of the
formation and smashed the port engine of the last Japanese plane there.
One by one he attacked the oncoming bombers until five had been downed. Commander Thach
later reported that at one point he saw three of the bombers falling in flames at the same
time. By now Thach and the other pilots had joined the fight. This was lucky because
O'Hare was out of ammunition. The Wildcats took care of several more bombers and Lexington
managed to evade the few bombs that were released. It was an amazing example of daring and
shooting skill. Afterward Thach figured out that Butch O'Hare had used only sixty rounds
of ammunition for each plane he destroyedHe had probably saved his ship. He was promoted
to Lieutenant Commander and awarded the highest decoration of his country, the.
Congressional Medal of Honor.