George Charrette

George Charrette (June 6, 1867 – February 7, 1938) was an enlisted man and later officer in the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Spanish–American War.

George Charrette
Born(1867-06-06)June 6, 1867
Lowell, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 7, 1938(1938-02-07) (aged 70)
Lowell, Massachusetts
Buried
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1884–1925
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsSpanish–American War
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

Charrette was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1867. He enlisted in the United States Navy September 24, 1884. As a Gunner's Mate third class, on June 2, 1898, he volunteered with seven others to sink USS Merrimac under heavy Spanish fire across the entrance to the harbor of Santiago, Cuba, thus bottling up the enemy fleet. Taken prisoner by the Spanish, Charrette was exchanged July 6, 1898. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism, although his name was misspelled as "George Charette" on the citation.

Charrette was warranted as a gunner on June 15, 1898, and was promoted to chief gunner on June 15, 1904. During World War I, he was commissioned lieutenant on July 1, 1918, and retired from the Navy in 1925.

He died February 7, 1938, in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia.

Awards

Namesake

In 1943, the destroyer USS Charrette (DD-581) was named in his honor.

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
  • Naval Historical Center (2006-05-10). "US People - Charette, George". Online Library. Archived from the original on 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.