William R Charette (1953) - Navy Hospital Corpsman Medal of Honor Hero

In the early-morning hours of 27 March 1953, Chinese troops overran three outposts on a hill the Americans called Vegas. Several hours later, the Marines counterattacked to retake the position. It was the beginning of twenty-four hours of non-stop combat. The well-entrenched enemy hit the Americans with small arms and mortar fire. As the Marines tried to ascend Vegas Hill, the Chinese rolled grenades down on them. There were so many explosions that Charette couldn't keep count. At one point, he was working on a badly wounded rifleman when a Chinese grenade hit nearby. Figuring that the man couldn't survive another wound, Charette threw himself over his body. The explosion tore off Charette's helmet, destroyed his medical pack, and knocked him out. When he came to and couldn't see because of the blood in his eyes (caused by shrapnel wounds to his face), he thought he was blind. But his vision eventually cleared, and he returned to his duties. Charette's medical supplies were destroyed by enemy fire, but he improvised by tearing off pieces of his uniform to make bandages for the men in his unit as well as for those in nearby platoons. He put his own battle vest on a wounded Marine whose vest had been destroyed by an explosion. When a trench was completely blown out, he swiftly went to the aid of five soldiers wounded in the explosion. One of them was severely injured, his leg nearly severed. When the order came at dawn to pull back, Marines started carrying the wounded out. They had to bend down to avoid enemy fire and were unable to get the man with the nearly-severed leg out without injuring him further. Charette picked the Marine up in his arms and, standing up despite enemy guns, carried him to safety. Following this engagement, Charette was pulled back in reserve. He was recommended for the Navy Cross, but as the citation was forwarded up through the ranks, it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In all, five Navy corpsmen were recommended for the medal during the Korean War. Charette was the only one who survived to receive it. 🇺🇸👕🎖️** Find All Of Our Exclusive Patriotic & History-Oriented Merchandise Here - Every Sale Supports The Channel And Keeps Us "On The Air": https://teespring.com/stores/lionhear... Even more Historically Nerdy Products can be found here! https://lionheartfilmworks.etsy.com ☕ If you appreciate our content and want to support us further, direct donations are always welcome at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lionheart PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, CLICK THE 'BELL' ICON FOR ALERTS ON NEW CONTENT - AND SHARE THIS VIDEO TO HELP US GROW AND KEEP HISTORY HAPPENING! Some other videos you might like on our Channel: 400 Evolution of the United States Army Uniform:    • Evolution of the United States Army Uniform   Medal of Honor Moment - Sergeant York:    • Sergeant Alvin York - Oct. 8th 1918 Medal ...   The Story of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:    • The Story of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier   #lionheartfilmworks #militaryhistory #medalofhonor