USS Enterprise (CV-6), in service from 1938 to 1947, earned 20 battle stars in World War II, the most awarded to any World War II ship. It was the only fast carrier to receive both the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Unit Commendation for World War II service. Planes from "The Big E" flew into the air attack on Pearl Harbor, sank three Japanese carriers at Midway, and fought in five of the six major World War II carrier-versus-carrier battles. Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal called Enterprise "the one ship that most nearly symbolizes the history of the U.S. Navy in World War II."
