William R. Charette

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Charette enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 11, 1951, during the Korean War (1950–1953) and underwent recruit training at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. He then attended the Hospital Corps School at Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland, becoming a Hospital Corpsman upon graduation. Afterwards, he was assigned to duty at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. On April 16, 1952, he was promoted to hospital corpsman third class.

He volunteered to serve in Korea with the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) as a hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Corps unit, and on November 25, 1952, he reported for duty at the Field Medical Service School, Camp Pendleton, California, for field training. After completing the course and graduating as a FMF corpsman, he was assigned to 3rd Platoon, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, which embarked for South Korea on February 5, 1953.

On the night of March 26, 1953, Chinese soldiers in North Korea attacked, and on March 27, overran two of three Marine hill outposts in North Korea manned by Marines and corpsmen from the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, named Vegas, Carson, and Reno (Vegas and Reno were overrun); Vegas was considered to be the most important outpost and the highest outpost that supported the other two outposts. Late morning that day, a head-on Marine assault was made to try and retake Vegas with the three rifle companies of the 5th Marines taking heavy casualties.

Fox Company, 2/7 Marines (2nd Battalion, 7th Marines were held in reserve) were then committed to the fight for Vegas. Charette and the other Fox Company corpsmen faced a growing number of casualties exposed to hostile small arms and mortar fire when Marines from his rifle company joined in the counterattack on March 27 against "Vegas Hill" with Charette's Third Platoon Commander, 2nd Lieutenant Theodore H. Chenoweth (Navy Cross), leading the assault in hand-to-hand fighting up the south side of the hill. When an enemy grenade landed near Charette and a badly wounded Marine he was aiding, he placed himself on top of the Marine in order to shield him from the explosion, and in doing so, the grenade's blast tore off Charette's helmet and destroyed his medical bag and knocked him unconscious. When he awoke, he found his face bleeding from shrapnel wounds and he couldn't see. He recovered enough to continue to aid Marines in the battle using torn parts of his uniform in order to dress battle wounds. In another instance, he removed his battle vest and placed it on another wounded Marine whose vest was destroyed from another explosion. In yet another instance, he attended to five Marines who were wounded in a trench from another explosion, and then stood up in the trench exposing himself to incoming rounds in order to carry the one most serious wounded comrade to safety. Charette sustained painful wounds during the day's battle and was recommended for the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. While still serving in Korea after the fighting ended there, he learned that he would receive the United States' highest military decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor.

Charette was presented the Medal of Honor from President Dwight D. Eisenhower during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 1954. Only five enlisted sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions during the Korean War. All were Navy hospital corpsmen attached to the Marine Corps. Of the five (Edward C. Benfold, Richard Dewert, Francis C. Hammond, John E. Kilmer, and Charette), Charette was the only living recipient of the medal.

Charette continued serving in the Navy, training new hospital corpsmen at the Naval Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes, Illinois. In 1958, aboard the USS Canberra, he had the honor of selecting the World War II remains (one from the Pacific, and one from the European) that would be placed in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

He eventually transferred to the Submarine Service, becoming one of the first hospital corpsmen to serve on a nuclear submarine. He served as an Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC) in the Navy's nuclear submarine program. He served under Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. on the USS Triton, but joined the crew too late to participate in Triton's historic circumnavigation voyage in 1960. He was also an IDC on the USS Sam Houston Gold crew 1962–1965.

Charette's other assignments included the USS Quillback; Fleet Ballistic Missile Training Center, Charleston, SC; USS Daniel Webster; Naval Hospital, Orlando, FL; USS Simon Bolivar; and at the Recruit Dispensary, Orlando, FL.

Charette retired from the Navy at the rate (rank) of Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (HMCM) on April 1, 1977, after 26 years of service.

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