Seabee repairs before Guadalcanal

The Japanese thrust toward the Solomons required Enterprise to leave New Caledonia before conventional repairs were complete. About seventy-five Seabees from the 3rd Construction Battalion joined the crew and worked on the carrier while she sailed toward the next battle. Damage-control officer Herschel Albert Smith spent roughly seventy-two hours sustained by coffee and adrenaline as the teams restored combat capability. Captain Osborne B. Hardison reported that their speed, training, energy, and skill had made the ship ready for further action. William Halsey sent his own commendation to the construction battalion. Trained people, endurance, and improvisation returned a damaged carrier to action when no replacement was available.