Background
Charrette was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on June 6, 1867.
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 United States Ship 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 commissioned lieutenant on August 3, 1920, 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.
In 1943, the destroyer United States Ship Charrette (Doctor of Divinity-581) was named in his honor.