Some unknown facts from history..........

An interesting forward that reveals a brave fact of World War II. Hope you`ll enjoy reading it.......

World War II produced many heroes. One such man wasLieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After hewas airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone hadforgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to thecarrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft were speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.

There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove intothe formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butchwove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes aspossible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limpedback to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the eventsurrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his planetold the tale. It showed the extent of Butch 's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that actionButch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

Inspirational Suicide Plan...........

This is an article which i recently came across and thought of putting the same on my blog........truely inspiring
My Stupid Suicide Plan - CHETAN BHAGAT

Last week, an IITian committed suicide. People who commit suicide do it when they feel there's no future. But wait, isn't IIT the one place where abright and shining future is a foregone conclusion? It just doesn't add up,does it? Why would a young, hardworking, bright student who has the worldahead of him do something like this? But the answer is this-in our constantreverence for the great institution (and I do believe IITs are great), weforget the dark side. And the dark side is that the IITs are afflicted bythe quintessential Indian phenomenon of academic pressure, probably thehighest in the world.I can rant about the educational system and how it requires serious fixing,or I can address the immediate-try my best to prevent such suicides. Forthis column I have chosen the latter, and I do so with a personal story.News of a suicide always brings back one particular childhood memory. I was14 years old when I first seriously contemplated suicide. I had done badlyin chemistry in the Class X half yearly exam. I was an IIT aspirant, and68% was nowhere near what an IIT candidate should be getting. I don't knowwhat had made me screw up the exam, but I did know this, I was going tokill myself. The only debate was about method.Ironically, chemistry offered a way. I had read about copper sulphate, andthat it was both cheap and poisonous. Copper sulphate was available at thekirana store. I had it all worked out.My rationale for killing myself was simple-nobody loved me, my chemistryscore was awful, I had no future and what difference would it make to theworld if I was not there. I bought the copper sulphate for tworupees-probably the cheapest exit strategy in the world. I didn't do it fortwo reasons. One, I had a casual chat with the aunty next door about coppersulphate, and my knowledgeable aunty knew about a woman who had died thatway. She said it was the most painful death possible, all your veins burstand you suffer for hours. This tale made my insides shudder. Second, on theday I was to do it, I noticed a street dog outside my house being teased bythe eighborhood kids as he hunted for scraps of food. Nobody loved him. Itwould make no difference to the world if the dog wasn't there. And I waspretty sure that its chemistry score would be awful. Yet, the dog wasn'ttrotting off to the kirana store. He was only interested in figuring out astrategy for his next meal. And when he was full, he merely curled up in acorner with one eye open, clearly content and not giving a damn about theworld. If he wasn't planning to die anytime soon what the hell was Iranting about? I threw the copper sulphatein the bin. It was the best two bucks I ever wasted.So why did I tell you this story? Because sometimes the pressure gets toomuch; like it did for the IITian who couldn't take it no more. On the dayhe took that dreadful decision, his family and friends were shattered, andIndia lost a wonderful, bright child. And as the silly but true coppersulphate story tells you-it could happen to any of us or those around us.So please be on the lookout, if you see a distressed young soul, lend asupportive, non-judgmental ear. When I look back, I thank that aunt andthat dog for unwittingly saving my life. If God wanted us to take our ownlife, he would have provided a power off button. He didn't, so have faithand let his plan for you unfold. Because no matter how tough life gets andhow much it hurts, if street dogs don't give up, there is no reason why we,the smart species, should. Makes sense right?

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you can't do it."