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First Name: George

Last Name: Charrette

Birthplace: Lowell, MA, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Navy (present)

Rating:





Date of Birth: 06 June 1867

Date of Death: 07 February 1938

Rank or Rate: Lieutenant

Years Served: 1884-1925
George Charrette

   
Engagements:
•  Spanish-American War (1898)

Biography:

George Charrette

Lieutenant, U.S. Navy

Medal of Honor Recipient

Spanish-American War

Lieutenant George Charrette (6 June 1867 - 7 February 1938) was an officer in the U.S. Navy who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during the Spanish-American War.

George Charrette was born in Lowell, MA, on 6 June 1867. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 24 September 1884. As a Gunner's Mate First Class on 2 June 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 on 6 July 1898. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism, although his name was misspelled as George Charette on the citation.

Charrette was commissioned a Lieutenant on 3 August 1920, and retired from the Navy in 1925.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Gunner's Mate First Class, U.S. Navy

Citation: In connection with the sinking of the U.S.S. Merrimac at the entrance to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, 2 June 1898. Despite heavy fire from the Spanish batteries, Charette displayed extraordinary heroism throughout this operation.

Honors

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

Death and Burial

Lieutenant George Charrette died on 7 February 1938 in Lowell, MA, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, in Section 7, Lot 10222.



Honoree ID: 1866   Created by: MHOH

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