Lt. Edward O’Hare takes off from the aircraft carrier Lexington
in a raid against the Japanese position at Rabaul—and minutes
later became America’s first WWII flying ace, shooting down five
enemy bombers.       
      
      
      
      
      
      
     
USS Lexington
     

Edward "Butch" O’Hare waves during a parade
held in his honor in his hometown of St. Louis,
Missouri. Flanking him are his mother Selma
O’Hare, left, and his wife Rita.

World War II fighter pilot Lt. Cmdr. Edward "Butch" O’Hare,
right, is congratulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
as O’Hare’s wife Rita places the Medal of Honor around his
neck on April 21, 1942, during a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C.