On February 14, 1943 the New York Times reported one of the more extraordinary stories of the silent service. The previous Christmas Eve a twenty two year old Pharmacist mate, First Class, had performed life-saving internal surgery on a fellow crewman aboard the Submarine USS Silversides.
USS Enterprise was the world’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and would see an exceptional five decades of active service throughout an astounding number of operations, including being the first nuclear powered ship to engage in combat. However, Enterprise’s deadliest day was not off of Vietnam, but off of Hawaii.