Heroic actions of man who swam in shark-infested waters to save sailors during WW2
In the dark of night, as USS Gregory sank following an attack by Japanese destroyers during the Battle of Guadalcanal, a US Navy sailor heroically dived into shark-infested waters to save the lives of more than a dozen men.
At a time when swimming pools were racially segregated, black US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French tied a rope around himself and, despite sharks circling so close they brushed past his feet, towed a raft of wounded sailors to the shores of the Solomon Islands.
However, the selfless actions of the man who became known as the "Human Tugboat" and "Hero of the Solomons", on the night of 5 September 1942, have largely gone uncelebrated – until now.
The Mess Attendant – one of the only roles available to black men during the Second World War due to racial segregation – enlisted in the US Navy in 1937 and left after four years of service on the Hawaii-based heavy cruiser USS Houston.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the 23-year-old veteran sailor re-enlisted and headed towards the Pacific Theatre, joining the crew of the USS Gregory in March 1942.
Little did he know his brave actions that year would lead to him being heralded 80 years later with the announcement a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-142 will be named USS Charles J French.
In addition, a Post Office in Omaha and a Rescue Swimmer Training Pool in Pensacola, Florida, have both been named in his honour.
At the latter event, PO1 French was posthumously awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Medal on 21 May 2022, 68 years after his death in 1956.
Chad Marshall started a change.org petition in 2021 demanding PO1 French be posthumously honoured with a Congressional Medal of Honour for his bravery.
From caste man to saviour
However, during the Second World War, it was mainly from the black community that passionate calls for a celebration came when his brave actions didn't get the same level of attention as PO1 French's white counterparts.
The Pittsburgh Courier, one of the country's leading black newspapers, wrote of PO1 French's bravery, saying: "There is not much opportunity for heroism in a ship's galley or an officers' ward room.
"But all the men on a ship are in danger in time of battle, no matter where they are serving or what their skin pigment may be.
"Although Mess Attendant Charles Jackson French of Arkansas was not in a heroic job, he made a heroic job out of it.
"He who had been looked down upon as a caste man, frozen in status, suddenly was looked up to as a saviour."
Wounded Ensign Robert Adrian, the only officer from the bridge of the USS Gregory to survive the incident, spoke about his rescue on NBC weekly radio show, It Happened In The Service, saying: "I can assure you that all the men on that raft are grateful to Mess Attendant French for his brave action off Guadacanal that night."
However, while the junior officer received the Purple Heart for receiving multiple shrapnel wounds during the attack, PO1 French was simply sent a letter of commendation from Admiral Halsey, saying: "For meritorious conduct in action while serving on board of a destroyer transport which was badly damaged during the engagement with Japanese forces in the British Solomon Islands on September 5, 1942.
"After the engagement, a group of about 15 men was adrift on a raft, which was being deliberately shelled by Japanese naval forces.
"French tied a line to himself and swam for more than two hours without rest, thus attempting to tow the raft.
"His conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Service."
By writing that PO1 French "swam for more than two hours" when Ensign Adrian had stated the sailor had spent six to eight hours rescuing them, the letter dramatically reduced his contribution.
PO1 French shares his story
Master Chief (Retired) Chester Wright, who served on vessels such as USS Salmon, USS Princeton and USS Cumberland, met PO1 French in San Diego shortly after the Korean War and recalled a conversation they had in his 2009 book Black Men and Blue Water.
PO1 French said: "I got the hell scared outta me. I noticed [there] was sharks circling around that raft waiting for [their] dinner.
"So I thought, what’s worse, them sharks or [the enemy]?
"At least them sharks will be quick.
"I nearly peed on myself when one of them sharks touched my feet.
"I just froze and tried to surface and float, get my feet outta the water.
"[There] was a whole lot of other folks in the water, some of [them] hurt pretty bad."
When PO1 French and those he had rescued finally made it to shore several hours later, the brave man was separated from the other men and told "you can go over there where the c****** boys stay."
This enraged not only PO1 French but the USS Gregory survivors, too.
The crew responded saying: "He ain't going nowhere.
"He is a member of the Gregory's crew and he damned well will stay right here with the rest of us.
"Anybody who tries to take him anywhere had better be ready to go to general quarters [be ready to fight] with all of us."
PO1 French recalled a nearly five-minute standoff between the survivors and those on land, adding: "Us covered with oil and grime in our hair and all over our clothes, in our eyes and them clean Master At Arms folks. We must have looked like wild men."
Eventually, PO1 French was left alone, safe in the knowledge that the men he had saved valued his act of bravery.
To mark PO1 French's heroism, the War Gum Trading Card Company sold bubble gum that included collectable, commemorative cards, one of which showed a man called French rescuing wounded sailors in rough seas.
Long-overdue recognition
Sadly, PO1 French died in 1956 without knowing the many ways in which the world would celebrate his bravery decades later.
When Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the US Navy, announced in January 2024 that the future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-142 would be named the USS Charles J French, after PO1 French, he said: "For too long, we did not recognize Petty Officer French appropriately, but we've begun to correct that.
"Recently, we renamed the training pool at Naval Base San Diego after him.
"Today, with profound conviction and a heart brimming with long-overdue recognition, I am proud to announce the name of our newest destroyer, DDG 142, will be the USS Charles J French."
Ms Vanessa French Wilson, PO1 French's great niece and co-sponsor of the future DDG-142, said: "The naming of the USS Charles J French is a joyful, yet humbling experience for the French family."
Fabrication of the ship is projected for 2026, with keel laying set for 2027, christening in 2029 and delivery for 2031.
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