Customer Reviews

Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O'Hare

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Authors Ewing and Lundstrom have done an excellent job of telling the story of Butch O'Hare. Born in March, 1914 and raised in St. Louis, Butch loved the simpler things in life. He enjoyed spending time with his father hunting or fishing, or playing with his younger sisters. Family was always important to Butch, and the authors do a good job of stressing this throughout the book. Butch eventually left St. Louis and attend Annapolis, graduating in 1937. Butch's first assignment was aboard the battleship New Mexico, and he quickly developed an affection for the ship's float planes. After serving aboard the New Mexico, Butch signed up for flight training and was stationed at Pensacola, Florida. There, Butch earned his wings.

Butch's most famous flight occurred on February 20, 1942. Butch was on board the carrier Lexington when a group of Japanese torpedo planes attacked the task force. Butch scrambled his F4F Wildcat fighter off the deck and rose to meet the enemy. In the span of about 5 minutes, Butch single-handedly shot down 6 of the attackers while saving the task force from certain damage. Butch was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt at a ceremony at the White House. Afterward, Butch embarked on a war bond tour where he visited factories and gave rally speeches. While on a visit to Grumman, Butch was able to talk to designers about the limitations of the F4F. This input led to the development of the F6F fighter, which Butch would fly later in the war.

The authors do a good job of describing in great detail Butch's war days. I felt like I was flying right along with him. Particularly interesting was the detailed description of Butch's final flight. After attacking a group of Japanese planes, Butch's night fighter group was to regroup and head back to their carrier. However, a series of unconfirmed and sketchy events occurred which led to the death of Butch. Some people believe that Butch died as a result of friendly fire, while others believe that a snooping Japanese plane managed to get close enough to shoot Butch down without being detected. The authors claim the latter, and I agree with their assessment.

Butch O'Hare was a true war hero. His bravery and courage were shining examples to others, and his heroism was a true morale booster during the dark early days of the war. A replica of Butch's F4F stands in O'Hare airport, named for him, in Chicago. Read this excellent book and experience the life of a true American hero.

The fine qualities of this book are described in the other reviews, so I'll focus on one important aspect that hasn't yet been mentioned. In most previous writings, the death of Butch O'Hare is clouded by suggestions that he may have been killed by friendly fire. Supposedly, TBF turret gunner Alvin Kernan may have struck Butch's Hellcat while firing at what he thought was a Japanese "Betty" on the Hellcat's tail. That notion took root early on, thanks to one of those in-your-face reporters who attempted to interview Kernan immediately upon landing from the harrowing flight. It gained momentum with official Navy reports, penned by officers who were not on the scene and didn't bother to debrief all of the personnel who were.

The result has been something of a stigma that has dogged Kernan over the years, which seems highly incongruous given that he was awarded the Navy Cross for his part in the same action. But Ewing and Lundstrom aptly dispel the myth in "Fateful Rendezvous." A combination of testimony from TBF radar operator H. B. Rand (who wasn't questioned immediately after the mission because of battle wounds) plus analysis of Japanese records revealed to the authors that Kernan indeed fired at a Betty that had tried to join up on the American formation (the pilot apparently thought he'd found his own squadron). Seeing the U.S. planes flashing their recognition lights to each other, the Betty's nose gunner popped off a few rounds that most likely stitched O'Hare's cockpit, wounding or killing the pilot with no appreciable damage to the Hellcat itself. Rand had seen it all, stating to the authors that the only way Kernan could have hit O'Hare's plane would have been to shoot the tail off of their TBF. Ewing and Lundstrom have brought a major improvement to O'Hare historiography by correcting the "friendly fire" canard.

One more positive not mentioned in the other reviews: the Bluejacket Books publication makes for an excellent read, with a bright, clear print font on quality paper. Too many books, sometimes very expensive ones, are turned loose with poor attention to the readability of the pages. This is one that you can read far into the night without eye strain; a key advantage with books like this that you don't want to put down.

The authors obviously researched their subject quite thoroughly in preparation for this excellent piece of history. In my previous readings, Butch O'Hare has remained somewhat of an enigma. This book provides great insights into the man and his times. This is a great tribute to an American hero. I wish there were more books like this about about other heroes from this time period. Men like John Basilone, Alexander Bonnyman, and Richard Bong need to have their stories retold for a new generation of readers

John Lundstrom is one of the few, maybe the only current writer of US naval aviation history who can describe air to air combat and have it make sense. Fateful Rendezvous continues John's standing in that catagory of writer. His description of the fateful night in November is a masterwork of clarity. The movement of all the participants are put into context with each other and the US Task Force under attck.
Getting the context right is something both John and Steve do very well and it shows in this book. Steve's coverage of O'Hare's early years and the family's social standing, including the association with Al Capone are revealed with detail and a solid sense of the times. Those interested in Chicago and American social history between the wars will find Fateful Rendezvous brings a new perspective to that topic.
John places the events of O'Hare's Navy service in the greater context of the United State's preparation for and fighting in WWII. John also brings in the Japanese point of view as their tactics change in response to the increasing power of the USN in the Pacific.
Both authors are known for their attention to detail and strong sense of historical honesty. This book continues that tradition. Having read a pre-publication copy I can't wait to have a finished edition of Fateful Rendezvous on my shelf.

Having read Lundstrom's excellent First Team books, I was anxious to get my hands on this book which he co-authored. After the first fifty pages, though, I was beginning to wonder about the tune of the book; I had anticipated a bit more down-to-earth approach, but the authors opted for the "hero in the making" style. Actually, the only interesting bits are in the latter half of the book, when Butch finally gets into combat flying, and as is the case with all Lundstrom's combat books, the dogfight descriptions are absolutely great. Likewise, the account of the death of Butch O'Hare is excellent.

The problem is that they only fill about a fourth of the book. The rest is filled with hagiography, which I was surprised to find. After all, we have the book "Bader - the man and his men", giving a detailed account of England's O'Hare, Douglas Bader, minus the holy approach. It is possible to present the life of a true hero without superficial glamour, but Lundstrom and Ewing missed it here.

Another case in point is Blackburn and Hammel's "Jolly Rogers". There, too, a hero is given a thorough treatment, but there's no added sugar. Maybe it is because the authors are not accustomed to writing from this angle; I think I'll stick to their pure combat books.

It would seem that Edward "Butch" O'Hare is authors Steve Ewing and John B. Lundstrom's most beloved fighter pilot and they want him to be ours too. I thought being a publication of the Naval Institute Press that this would be a legitimate biography and not flat-out, gushing praise but I was wrong. In fairness, when dealing with the events of 26 November 1943, the authors did fine research in clearing up one of WWII's great mysteries and described the evolution of nightfighting tactics very well, indeed but their overall portrait of O'Hare was lacking. Rightly or wrongly, I think more readers than not appreciate a "warts and all" approach and figure a Pollyanna approach to biographizing anyone lacks credibility and ultimately creates a disservice to the subjects memory, the epilog to the book is a teary-eyed, maudlin, passage more fitting to an Irish wake. Go figure. This and the soft-balling of father EJ's underworld ties,participation in Capone's downfall, dealmaking with the DOJ and engineering O'Hare's entrance to USNA seem as though SOMETHING is being left out. Maybe it's just me but I was expecting something more.

I purchased this book as part of the background material I was collecting for a history of Western Military Academy, Alton, Illinois where I graduated and where Butch O'Hare graduated along with Paul Tibbets and many others who went on to outstanding military careers. I knew that O'Hare had won the Medal of Honors and that O'Hare airport in Chicago was named after him but I knew very little else about him. I certainly did not know the background of his father and his connections with Al Capone. For anyone interested in WWII and personal stories of those who participated this book will add depth to your knowledge.

The book arrived in exactly the condition described. Very nice and I am glad to add it to my library. The shipping took an excessivly long time however, but otherwise I have no real complaints.

This book is a "must read" if you have any interest in WW II aviation and learning about heroic airman Butch O'Hare. It well-written, researched but doesn't read like a "textbook." O'Hare is a true American legend but I still think many Chicago residents don't even the man that their airport was named after. AWESOME book!

Well written into the life of "Butch" O'Hare and the tragedy of this hero's loss. This book will keep you intrigued from start to finish from Butch's early life,family life,and his military life. Well documented and is a must read for the military historian.