27 March

HC3 WILLIAM R. CHARETTE
U.S. Navy Medical Corpsman
Korea
27 March 1953

The Marine Rifle company Hospital Corpsman Charette was attached to came under heavy fire from a well-entrenched and numerically superior enemy force. Charette repeatedly moved out into the barrage of hostile small-arms and mortar fire to render assistance to his wounded Marines.

An enemy grenade landed within a few feet of a marine Charette was attending. The young Corpsman threw himself on top of the wounded Marine absorbing the entire blast with his body.

In spite of his facial wounds, and concussion from the intensity of the blast, which ripped the helmet and medical aid kit from him, HC3 Charette resourcefully improvised emergency bandages by tearing off part of his clothing.  He continued to administer medical aid to the wounded both in his own unit and to those in adjacent platoons.

Charette spotted a wounded Marine whose armored vest had been torn from his body by an artillery blast. He removed his own battle vest and placed it on the unconscious Marine in spite of the added danger of not having a Flak vest.

Charette moved to another casualty who was suffering excruciating pain from a serious leg wound, HC3 Charette stood upright in the trench line and exposed himself to a deadly hail of enemy fire in order to aid to the Marine.

HC3 Charette was directly responsible for saving several lives.

Charette retired from the Navy at the rank of Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (HMCM)^[1] on April 1, 1977 after 26 years of service. He passed from this world from complications after surgery on March 18, 2012.