The US Navy will name its new destroyer after a World War II hero who rescued 15 shipmates from shark-infested waters when their ship was sunk by the Japanese.
Charles Jackson French was one of six sailors who swam for hours to rescue all but 11 of the crew of the USS Gregory by rafting them to safety.
French was recommended for the Navy Cross, but was never awarded a medal for his bravery.
Instead, he received a letter of recommendation from Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey, the commander of the Southern Pacific Fleet.
Charles Jackson French is a hero of World War II. He saved fifteen shipmates by swimming for six to eight hours through shark-infested waters while towing a life raft. He is pictured with his sister Viola during a match in 1943
French was 22 years old and working as a cook on the USS Gregory (682) when it was bombed and sunk by the Japanese on September 4, 1942.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has now announced that the service will name a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer after French in honor of his heroics.
In May 2022, Del Toro posthumously awarded French the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. A training pool for rescue swimmers at Naval Base San Diego was also named in his honor.
It was the night of September 4, 1942, when the crew of the USS Gregory was patrolling the area between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in the Soloman Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
The crew encountered the Japanese destroyers Yūdachi, Hatsuyuki and Murakumo.
Charles Jackson French served in the United States Navy during World War II – his ship was sunk by Japanese forces. He saved the lives of 15 of his shipmates by swimming through shark-infested waters near the Solomon Islands and hauling a life raft around his waist
The Japanese ships went unnoticed and opened fire on the USS Gregory and her sister ship USS Little.
Amid the chaos, the crew debated whether to attack the Japanese destroyers or leave quietly.
A Navy pilot, mistaking the flashes for Japanese submarines, then dropped flares, inadvertently making the ships visible targets.
The Japanese destroyers, along with a cruiser, began firing at 1 a.m. as the Battle of Guadalcanal began.
Outgunned and on fire, the USS Gregory lasted only three minutes before sinking.
French, a 22-year-old Mess Attendant, was aboard the USS Gregory that night.
American warships, like the rest of the military, were segregated during World War II. Black sailors often served as cooks and stewards.
His story appeared in a comic book, but was largely forgotten after the war. Frenchmen successfully brought the men to safety on the coast of the Solomon Islands by swimming for six to eight hours
French, along with a few uninjured sailors, were on makeshift rafts in the ocean after the sinking.
In a daring act of heroism, amid shark-infested waters, French essentially became a human tugboat.
He tied a rope around his waist and swam for six to eight hours through the night, towing a raft filled with his wounded shipmates.
“Tell me if I’m going in the right direction,” he allegedly shouted to the sailors, all of whom were white.
If he had not pulled them to safety, the current would have pushed their raft toward a Japanese-occupied coast.
Despite attempts to convince him to leave the dangerous waters, the Frenchman, who weighed only 5’8 and 195 pounds, remained determined and stuck with his shipmates, stating that he feared the Japanese more than the sharks.
French and the 15 sailors on the raft, many of whom were injured, were spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft at dawn, leading to their rescue by a Navy landing craft.
When French’s shipmates were finally rescued, hospital staff attempted to separate French from the group into quarters specifically for blacks.
The wounded shipmates of the Gregory men refused to let that happen and threatened to fight.
His story appeared in a comic book, but was largely forgotten after the war.
In an effort to honor his actions and right the past, Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro has now announced that the service will name a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer after French in honor of his heroics.
A US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer will be named in his honor and will likely enter service around 2031
“French gathered 15 shipmates on a raft and, fearing they would drift to a Japanese-controlled island, towed the raft himself to another island,” Del Toro explained last week at the Surface Navy Association’s 36th National Symposium in Virginia.
“He swam for hours, pulled fifteen souls from the jaws of the sea, and braved the odds and the sharks with nothing but his own perseverance and compassion.”
“For too long we have not properly recognized Petty Officer French, but we have begun to correct that.
“With deep conviction and a heart full of long overdue recognition, I proudly announce that the name of our newest destroyer, DDG 142, will be the USS Charles J. French.
“Let this ship inspire us to challenge our own limitations and always – always – answer to duty, even when the waters are rough and the path ahead is uncertain.”