"Fate favors fools, small children, and ships named Enterprise."  -William T. Riker.

CV-6 Enterprise was so notable it received the British Admiralty Pennant - the only non British ship to be awarded the honor.

There was a time that the Enterprise was the only functioning USN carrier in the Pacific. A handmade sign was seen on the hanger deck…..it read “Enterprise vs. Japan”.  That says a lot to to the history of the Enterprise.

The USS Enterprise probably saved my father and his rear gunner's lives.  My father was an SBD pilot on the USS Hornet (CV 8) and flew in combat at the Battle of Santa Cruz.  During the battle, his squadron VS-8 was attacking the Japanese carrier Shokaku as the Hornet was being bombed and torpedoed.  He hit the Shokaku with a 1000 lbs. bomb but unfortunately his squadron was unable to sink it.  However, it did put Shokaku out of the war for almost 7 months.   During his return to the US fleet, he was attacked by a Zero which severely wounded his rear gunner. He was able to escape but when he sighted the Hornet it was dead in the water,  listing, and unable to land planes. Fortunately he was able to find the USS Enterprise but its deck was full of planes. After an initial wave off and with almost empty fuel tanks he finally got the clearance to land.  His rear gunner had lost so much blood that as his plane was being pushed aside, an Enterprise plane handler pointed at his SBD and said "Look that plane is bleeding!"  His rear gunner spent 6 months in the hospital but survived and lived until 2007.  It's so sad that that after the war Admiral Halsey's efforts to raise money to make the Enterprise a museum ship fell short.

USS Enterprise (and HMS Warspite) not being preserved as museum ships is borderline criminal.

You treat her like a lady. And she'll always bring you home.

- Admiral Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy

Old guy here. What more can you say about the USS Enterprise? The Grey Ghost, the Big E.  The most decorated ship of WW II with 20 battle stars. Involved in practically every major engagement in the Pacific War. A miniseries of your legendary exploits on the History Channel.
A total shame she could not be saved as a museum ship for the next generation to marvel and admire.
Well done CV-6 !!!

"As long as humanity is guarded by a ship named Enterprise. Of one thing I have absolutely no doubt. Evil shall never triumph... and freedom shall never die."

"The Enterprise. No bloody A, B, C, or D!"
- Montgomery Scott

If just speaking of USS Enterprise's 1942 service record, it should most definitely be remembered that the only reason she was not at the Battle of the Coral Sea is because she was returning from escort duty alongside the USS Hornet which had just delivered the "Dolittle" package to Japan's home island.

"Let's make sure history never forgets the name, Enterprise."

Jean-Luc Picard

One major reason why the US Navy elected for much lighter armor for Enterprise wasn't just to max out aircraft capacity, but it was also because we were expecting to be fighting battles at extended range in open waters. The Royal Navy, on the other hand, elected to use heavily armored decks because of the tighter quarters in places like the English Channel, the North Sea (particularly at Jutland), and so on meant they were much more likely to find themselves caught in knife-fight ranges with battleships and heavy cruisers.

I actually got to read the captains log book for the Enterprise.. those kamikaze hits almost completely destroyed her. The crew determination not to let her go under was heroic and getting those fires put out.

Big E! She stood alone in the Pacific for months.

Its criminal that she wasnt retained as museum ship.

Fun fact: Any ship bearing the name Enterprise is "unofficially" the flagship of the entire Unites States Navy, and had been since their creation

My grandfather James W. Plummer was a radar specialist with Torpedo Squadron 10 and was on Enterprise Dec. 1943 until May 1945.  I was just reading the notes he gave me before he passed away - he was below with his bunkmate only 100 feet from the front elevator when the final kamikazi went through the flight deck.  

He says, "...the explosion raised the forward part of the flight deck some five feet and blew the entire elevator structure hundreds of feet into the air...My roommate, R.R. Jones and I were blown out of our bunks and landed on the steel decks.  Had it not been for the major steel structure to support the flight deck between us and the plane, someone else would be writing this story."

Rest in peace Grandpa!! Enterprise was such a legendary vessel.

"She's got the right name" Dr McCoy in the pilot of TNG.

Dating back to 1775, USS Enterprise is arguably the most famous name in naval history. Having served aboard the 8th Enterprise (CVN-65), living up to the name, the legacy, and the history was something the Navy took very seriously. While it wasn't always fun, I feel privileged  to have been a small part of that history. I have no doubt the crew of the new USS Enterprise (CVN-80) will feel the same.

She suffered so much in WW2 to only be scrapped by the US. She should have been made into a museum.

It's a shame they never raised enough funds to keep her from being scrapped.  That piece of history needed to be saved.