WWII pilot's family to honor O'Hare at namesake airport

CHICAGO (AP) - Family members of Navy pilot Edward "Butch" O'Hare are gathering at his namesake Chicago airport to mark the 75th anniversary of his heroic World War II mission.

Chicago Alderman Ed Burke's office says about 30 members of O'Hare's family will attend a ceremony at O'Hare International Airport on Friday.

O'Hare was awarded the Medal of Honor for a 1942 mission. He single-handedly fought off nine Japanese bombers that were attacking the USS Lexington.

His Medal of Honor citation called it "one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation."

O'Hare later returned to combat. The 29-year-old died when his plane was shot down during a mission in 1943.

The Chicago City Council voted in 1949 to name the airport after him.