He did. Two typhoons actually. He also fell for the Japanese faint at Leyte Gulf.

But he led the successful raids against the Japanese in February and March '42, and then launched Doolittle's planes in April.

But most importantly, he replaced Admiral Ghormley as the theater commander for Guadalcanal, and changed the fortunes of that most crucial campaign. A loss at Guadalcanal would have undone the victory at Midway. Conversely, the victory at Guadalcanal, in pretty much every historian's mind, spelled the end of the IJN's dominance in the Pacific.

For that, Halsey should get the tribute. But I personally also applaud Nimitz who visited Guadalcanal, assessed the situation and decided Ghormley had to go. And who also figured out that Halsey, who until then was just a raider, would be able to switch to an administrator and be an excellent one at that.