Father’s Day has a big focus on what to get for dad. But what you may not realize is that there’s a good present that a father can give his sons and daughters… and that would be a ‘good name’.
Here’s a story that will illustrate my point.
There was a lawyer in the 1920s named “Easy Eddie.” He was a star attorney who made so much money that he could afford a house with a swimming pool and a skating rink! He could take his family on the best vacations. You may be wondering how he could afford all of this.
He was a lawyer for the Capone Mob.
“Easy Eddie” was able to give his son and daughters whatever they wanted. But I guess how he earned all that money began to get to his conscience. He worried that his son Edward would turn out just like him. And he realized he had to give his son the one gift he hadn’t yet given him: A good name.
You see, “Easy Eddie” contacted a reporter and arranged a meeting with the IRS, and provided evidence of tax evasion for Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit. According to reports, he let the government agents know about the bookkeeper and the attempts to tamper with the jury. It’s too bad that he was never mentioned in the movie “The Untouchables,” since “Easy Eddie” was the undercover informant who brought down the crime syndicate.
The gift of a good name carried a very high price. As “Easy Eddie” was driving home one day, he became the victim of a mob hit, with shotguns and big game slugs.
His son, whom he sent off to a military academy in Alton, Illinois, years earlier, became the U.S. Navy’s first World War II flying ace. Just a few years after his dad’s assassination, Edward made a solo attack with his Grumman Wildcat on a formation of nine enemy bombers (Bettys) over the Pacific. When his wingman’s guns jammed, Edward made a solo attack. He shot down five of the bombers with limited ammo, making him the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor, a key moment in the pivotal Battle of Bougainville in early 1942.
Like his dad, Edward gave his life in the service of America, shot down over the Gilbert Islands while flying a Grumman Hellcat in a first-time night attack by fighter planes against a squadron of torpedo bombers. They named a U.S. Navy destroyer after him before the end of the war.
But our country felt he deserved a little more name recognition. That’s why they named Chicago’s airport after the World War II hero Edward “Butch” O’Hare.
Some of you may have seen this on the Internet years ago too. So I did a little fact-checking to confirm the story. Here’s a link to the Chicago Tribune story with a few details.
What this teaches us is that a father’s kids can do amazing things, especially if their dad can give them a good name (last name will do), which comes from character. It also shows that it’s not easy to give a good name, in that it sometimes requires tough choices to be made.
And it also shows that it’s never too late in life to do the right things… that can pass on a good name.