TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM CHARETTE

Five enlisted sailors, all Hospital Corpsmen, earned the Medal of Honor during the Korean War. Only one, William Charette, survived to receive his award . . .

Orphaned at the age of four, William R. Charette, a native of Ludington, Michigan, was destined for a life of service and sacrifice. 

Raised by an uncle, who loved the boy like his own, Charette was only ten years old when his relative left to fight in WWII. With his uncle gone for three years, the young William and his sister lived and worked on a dairy farm. Charette would never forget the impact the war had on him, his family, and so many others.  

On January 11, 1951, with the Korean War raging and Charette wanting to do his part, the 19-year-old high school graduate enlisted in the Navy and became a Hospital Corpsman. He was soon on the front lines of the war. 

On the night of March 26-27, 1953, just two days before his 21st birthday, Charette went above and beyond the call of duty.

With his unit, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, in a vicious fight to retake Outpost Vegas, “Doc” Charette rushed from one wounded Marine to another administering medical aid, dragging men to safety, and doing whatever he could to save his buddies from a deadly barrage of small arms, grenade, and mortar fire.

"There were so many grenades going off there was no way to count them," Charette would later say. "It was just a constant roar.”

At one point in the terrifying battle, a grenade landed near him and a Marine he was treating. In total disregard for his own safety, the young Corpsman threw himself over the wounded man, protecting him from a rain of shrapnel and saving his life.  

The ensuing blast "tore off Charette's helmet, destroyed his medical bag, and knocked him unconscious.” Awakening from the horrific explosion, Charette, bleeding from shrapnel wounds to his face and eyes, continued to help Marines scattered across the battlefield.

"I could hear bullets zipping by my head,” he said in a Veterans of Foreign Wars interview in 2003. "But I couldn't leave the guys there.”

Using "torn parts of his uniform to dress battle wounds” and even giving his flak jacket to a wounded man, he refused to retreat to friendly lines. Before finally collapsing, Charette "stood upright in a trench line, exposed himself to a deadly hail of enemy fire,” and helped carry a gravely-wounded Marine to safety.

Miraculously, Charette survived the ordeal and for "his indomitable courage and inspiring efforts in saving so many lives,” was awarded the Medal of Honor.

On May 26, 1958, Charette, as the only active duty Navy enlisted Medal of Honor recipient, was asked to attend a ceremony aboard the USS Canberra and select a WWII Unknown Soldier from three caskets aboard the ship. 

By placing a wreath in front of one of the coffins, he designated that the unknown remains inside that casket were to be sent to the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery, where they remain today as a symbol of all those who died in WWII and were never identified.

Postscript:

After the Korean War, Doc Charette returned to the States, raised a family, and eventually entered the Submarine Force, becoming one of the first hospital corpsmen to serve on a nuclear submarine. In a tragic chapter of his life, however, one of his five children, William A. “Billy” Charette, a college student, died in a head-on car collision at the age of 21. 

Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Charette retired from the US Navy in 1977 and passed away on March 18, 2012, just 11 days before his 80th birthday.

In 2019, the US Navy announced that an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer would be named in his honor.

“The actions of Hospital Corpsman William Charette will neither be forgotten or diminished,” Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer said in March 2019. “Charette put himself at extreme risk during intense combat to render aid to Marines in need. His efforts saved lives, and I am honored that his legacy will live on in the future USS William Charette (DDG-130).

“We are very proud and honored,” Tom Ezdebski, Charette’s nephew, told the Associated Press after hearing the news. “I think he himself would be honored but embarrassed. That's just the type of person that he was.”

Today we pay tribute to William Charette, his family, and all the US Navy Corpsmen who served, sacrificed, and died during the Korean War.

Lest we forget!