Korean War Medal of Honor Recipient. A US Navy Hospital Corpsman attached to the 2nd. Battalion, 7th. Marines, he was honored for combat bravery of March 27, 1953. Raised in West Michigan, he joined the Navy following his 1951 high school graduation and after basic training and Hospital Corps School was assigned to Naval Hospital Charleston, South Carolina. Charette volunteered for service in Korea and after field medical training at Camp Pendleton, California, was deployed; when his unit came under fire on March 27, 1953, he repeatedly exposed himself to harm while treating wounded Marines, on one occasion throwing himself on top of a casualty to shield him from a hand grenade blast and on another giving up his battle vest and tearing apart his own uniform to make dressings. Injured multiple times, he was still serving in Korea when informed that he would receive the Medal of Honor. Charette was presented his award at the White House by President Eisenhower on January 12, 1954, then remained on active service. He was assigned as an instructor at Naval Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes, Illinois, in 1958 was given the honor of selecting the World War II remains to be buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns, and later joined the submarine service, serving as an independent duty corpsman (IDC) aboard the USS Triton and the USS Sam Houston. Achieving the rank of Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (HMCM(SS)) he retired in 1977 and thereafter resided in Florida where he died following a period of declining health. A wing of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia, carries his name.
Korean War Medal of Honor Recipient. A US Navy Hospital Corpsman attached to the 2nd. Battalion, 7th. Marines, he was honored for combat bravery of March 27, 1953. Raised in West Michigan, he joined the Navy following his 1951 high school graduation and after basic training and Hospital Corps School was assigned to Naval Hospital Charleston, South Carolina. Charette volunteered for service in Korea and after field medical training at Camp Pendleton, California, was deployed; when his unit came under fire on March 27, 1953, he repeatedly exposed himself to harm while treating wounded Marines, on one occasion throwing himself on top of a casualty to shield him from a hand grenade blast and on another giving up his battle vest and tearing apart his own uniform to make dressings. Injured multiple times, he was still serving in Korea when informed that he would receive the Medal of Honor. Charette was presented his award at the White House by President Eisenhower on January 12, 1954, then remained on active service. He was assigned as an instructor at Naval Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes, Illinois, in 1958 was given the honor of selecting the World War II remains to be buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns, and later joined the submarine service, serving as an independent duty corpsman (IDC) aboard the USS Triton and the USS Sam Houston. Achieving the rank of Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (HMCM(SS)) he retired in 1977 and thereafter resided in Florida where he died following a period of declining health. A wing of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia, carries his name.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Inscription
MEDAL OF HONOR
HMCM US NAVY
KOREA VIETNAM
PURPLE HEART
LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER
Family Members
Children
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See more Charette memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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