thedrifter
09-25-03, 08:16 AM
Medal of Honor recipient to speak at Marine Corps birthday ball
By DORINE GOSS
The Daily Courier
Just 137 men who have received the Medal of Honor are living today. Twenty of those 137 received the medal for valor in combat in Korea. And one of those men is coming to Prescott to speak Nov. 8 at the Marine Corps League birthday ball.
Medal of Honor winner William Charette will visit Prescott to attend the 228th Marine Corps League birthday celebration.
Charette, a Navy corpsman attached to the 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Korea, received our country’s highest military award from President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Jan. 12, 1954, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against enemy aggressor forces.”
His Medal of Honor certificate continues with a specific description of his actions in the “early morning hours” of March 27, 1953, in the P’anmunjom Corridor of the demilitarized zone in Korea.
“Participating in a fierce encounter with a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched enemy force occupying positions of a vital and bitterly contested outpost far in advance of the main resistance, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Charette repeatedly and unhesitatingly moved about through a murderous barrage of hostile small-arms and mortar fire to render assistance to his wounded comrades.
“When an enemy grenade landed within a few feet of a Marine he was attending, he immediately threw himself upon the stricken man and absorbed the entire concussion of the deadly missile with his body. Although sustaining painful facial wounds, and undergoing shock from the intensity of the blast which ripped the helmet and medical aid kit from his person, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Charette resourcefully improvised emergency bandages by tearing off part of his clothing, and gallantly continued to administer medical aid to the wounded in his own unit and to those in adjacent platoon areas as well.
“Observing a seriously wounded comrade whose armored vest had been torn from his body by the blast from an exploding shell, he selflessly removed his own battle vest and placed it upon the helpless man although fully aware of the added jeopardy to himself. Moving to the side of another casualty who was suffering excruciating pain from a serious leg wound, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Charette stood upright in the trench line and exposed himself to a deadly hail of enemy fire in order to lend more effective aid to the victim and to alleviate his anguish while being removed to a position of safety.”
Charette’s Medal of Honor certificate testifies that he “was directly responsible for saving many lives” of the Marines serving in the rifle company to which he was attached.
The 21-year-old corpsman was one of only five hospital corpsmen who earned America’s highest award for military valor in Korea. And he was the only one who lived to have Eisenhower hang the Medal of Honor around his neck.
After his service in Korea, Charette proudly “made the final selection of the World War II Unknown Soldier, now buried in the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery.” The Medal of Honor winner retired from the Navy in 1977 after 26 years of service.
Now the 71-year-old Charette is coming to Prescott to attend the Nov. 8 Marine Corps birthday ball because his brother-in-law, Stewart Fraiser of Dewey, invited him to the annual event. Charette married Louise Fraiser, Stewart’s sister, in November 1954. The Dewey man is commandant of the local Copper State Detachment of the league.
Mike Andrichak, junior vice commandant and one of about 80 members of the league, said Navy corpsmen usually were “more than Marines.”
He said Navy corpsmen train with the Marines and are qualified to do minor surgery in the field – such as removing pieces of shrapnel.
He remembers a corpsman who was serving with his company in Chu Lai, Vietnam, in 1965. The corpsman was treating a Marine who had been hit in his cartridge belt with an infusion of “blood expander.” Incoming fire hit another Marine and the corpsman threw himself over the already-downed Marine to protect him from additional fire.
“That’s just what they do,” Andrichak said.
Marine Corps League members celebrate the Nov. 10 birthday of the Marines annually with a ball that includes a “happy hour,” dinner and dancing to live Big Band music. Festivities will begin at 5 p.m. at the Quality Inn on Highway 69. Call Carl Noyes at 759-2656 for more information. Tickets are $40 per person and guests are welcome.
Contact the reporter at dgoss@prescottaz.com
http://www.communitypapers.com/DAILYCOURIER/myarticles.asp?P=825316&S=400&PubID=11349
http://www.communitypapers.com/DAILYCOURIER/sites/dailycourier/0985Edition/Marine.jpg
Navy corpsman William Charette was 22 in 1954 when he received a Medal of Honor for valor in combat in Korea from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Courtesy photo
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
By DORINE GOSS
The Daily Courier
Just 137 men who have received the Medal of Honor are living today. Twenty of those 137 received the medal for valor in combat in Korea. And one of those men is coming to Prescott to speak Nov. 8 at the Marine Corps League birthday ball.
Medal of Honor winner William Charette will visit Prescott to attend the 228th Marine Corps League birthday celebration.
Charette, a Navy corpsman attached to the 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Korea, received our country’s highest military award from President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Jan. 12, 1954, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against enemy aggressor forces.”
His Medal of Honor certificate continues with a specific description of his actions in the “early morning hours” of March 27, 1953, in the P’anmunjom Corridor of the demilitarized zone in Korea.
“Participating in a fierce encounter with a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched enemy force occupying positions of a vital and bitterly contested outpost far in advance of the main resistance, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Charette repeatedly and unhesitatingly moved about through a murderous barrage of hostile small-arms and mortar fire to render assistance to his wounded comrades.
“When an enemy grenade landed within a few feet of a Marine he was attending, he immediately threw himself upon the stricken man and absorbed the entire concussion of the deadly missile with his body. Although sustaining painful facial wounds, and undergoing shock from the intensity of the blast which ripped the helmet and medical aid kit from his person, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Charette resourcefully improvised emergency bandages by tearing off part of his clothing, and gallantly continued to administer medical aid to the wounded in his own unit and to those in adjacent platoon areas as well.
“Observing a seriously wounded comrade whose armored vest had been torn from his body by the blast from an exploding shell, he selflessly removed his own battle vest and placed it upon the helpless man although fully aware of the added jeopardy to himself. Moving to the side of another casualty who was suffering excruciating pain from a serious leg wound, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Charette stood upright in the trench line and exposed himself to a deadly hail of enemy fire in order to lend more effective aid to the victim and to alleviate his anguish while being removed to a position of safety.”
Charette’s Medal of Honor certificate testifies that he “was directly responsible for saving many lives” of the Marines serving in the rifle company to which he was attached.
The 21-year-old corpsman was one of only five hospital corpsmen who earned America’s highest award for military valor in Korea. And he was the only one who lived to have Eisenhower hang the Medal of Honor around his neck.
After his service in Korea, Charette proudly “made the final selection of the World War II Unknown Soldier, now buried in the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery.” The Medal of Honor winner retired from the Navy in 1977 after 26 years of service.
Now the 71-year-old Charette is coming to Prescott to attend the Nov. 8 Marine Corps birthday ball because his brother-in-law, Stewart Fraiser of Dewey, invited him to the annual event. Charette married Louise Fraiser, Stewart’s sister, in November 1954. The Dewey man is commandant of the local Copper State Detachment of the league.
Mike Andrichak, junior vice commandant and one of about 80 members of the league, said Navy corpsmen usually were “more than Marines.”
He said Navy corpsmen train with the Marines and are qualified to do minor surgery in the field – such as removing pieces of shrapnel.
He remembers a corpsman who was serving with his company in Chu Lai, Vietnam, in 1965. The corpsman was treating a Marine who had been hit in his cartridge belt with an infusion of “blood expander.” Incoming fire hit another Marine and the corpsman threw himself over the already-downed Marine to protect him from additional fire.
“That’s just what they do,” Andrichak said.
Marine Corps League members celebrate the Nov. 10 birthday of the Marines annually with a ball that includes a “happy hour,” dinner and dancing to live Big Band music. Festivities will begin at 5 p.m. at the Quality Inn on Highway 69. Call Carl Noyes at 759-2656 for more information. Tickets are $40 per person and guests are welcome.
Contact the reporter at dgoss@prescottaz.com
http://www.communitypapers.com/DAILYCOURIER/myarticles.asp?P=825316&S=400&PubID=11349
http://www.communitypapers.com/DAILYCOURIER/sites/dailycourier/0985Edition/Marine.jpg
Navy corpsman William Charette was 22 in 1954 when he received a Medal of Honor for valor in combat in Korea from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Courtesy photo
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: