George Charrette

George Charrette
Born	(1867-06-06)June 6, 1867 Lowell, Massachusetts
Died	February 7, 1938(1938-02-07) (aged 70) Lowell, Massachusetts
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1884–1925
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles / wars	Spanish–American War
Awards	Medal of Honor

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.

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

• Sampson Medal
• Spanish Campaign Medal
• Victory Medal

Namesake

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

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish–American War

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.