The Navy says it will name one of its next Arleigh Burke-class destroyers after Charles Jackson French, the late San Diego resident who towed 15 injured shipmates to safety in shark-filled waters during World War II.
The Arkansas native quietly died in 1956 in San Diego, where he settled after the war. But his heroics have been brought to light in recent years by many people, including family of the shipmates whose lives he saved.
The attention led the Navy to name the rescue swimmer training pool at Naval Base San Diego in his memory in 2022.
French learned to swim in Arkansas’ Red River at age 8, acquiring a skill that served him well in the Solomon Islands on Sept. 5, 1942, while he was aboard the USS Gregory, a destroyer that had been converted to a transport ship.
A Japanese warship attacked the Gregory, striking it hard enough to make it sink. Sailors scrambled into life boats, hoping to make it through the night.
“The uninjured French gathered injured shipmates on a nearby raft and tied a rope around his waist in order to pull the survivors to safety,” the Navy said in a statement. “French swam through the night until friendly aircraft saw him the next morning.”
Years later, following his death, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, which is given to people who exhibit heroism in moments that do not involve direct personal conflict with the enemy.
His heroics earned him the nickname “human tugboat.”
His real name will be placed on a type of destroyer that’s come to be known as the “workhorse of the Navy” because it can do everything from fire long-range missiles to help protect aircraft carriers.
Work is expected to begin on the USS Charles Jackson French in 2026.
