U.S. Navy christens new guided missile destroyer at Maine shipyard

A U.S. Navy warship named for a medic who threw his own body over a wounded Marine to absorb a grenade blast just took its first public step toward joining the fleet, breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across its bow in a Maine shipyard on Saturday.

The U.S. Navy christened its fifth Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the future USS William Charette, designated DDG 130, during a ceremony at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works’ drydock facility in Bath, Maine on August 1, 2026. Bath Iron Works, a shipyard with a long history of building guided missile destroyers for the Navy, hosted the traditional bottle-breaking ceremony performed by the ship’s sponsor, Kathryn “Kati” Charette Donovan, daughter of the ship’s namesake, alongside Maid of Honor Michelle Charette and Matron of Honor Sara Charette Wright. Two additional sponsors, Margaret Ann Henderson and Laura Charette Bennett, were unable to attend and were represented by their nieces during the ceremony.

The destroyer honors Master Chief Hospital Corpsman William Charette, a Navy medic who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War. Charette, attached to Company F, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, was treating a wounded Marine on March 27, 1953, when an enemy grenade landed within feet of the two men. Charette threw himself onto the wounded Marine to shield him from the blast, absorbing the concussion of the explosion with his own body. Despite suffering facial wounds and losing his helmet and medical kit in the explosion, Charette improvised bandages from his own torn clothing and continued treating wounded Marines under enemy fire throughout the engagement, actions the Navy credits with directly saving multiple lives.

Charette was one of only five Navy hospital corpsmen awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Korean War, and the only one of that group who survived to receive the honor in person, accepting it from President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a White House ceremony on January 12, 1954. He continued serving in the Navy for more than two decades afterward, including duty aboard submarines, before retiring as a master chief hospital corpsman. Charette died on March 18, 2012.

Maine Senator Susan Collins attended Saturday’s christening and described the significance of naming a warship after Charette’s example of service.

“It was a privilege to join thousands of shipbuilders, Navy leaders and personnel, local residents, and supporters at Bath Iron Works today for the christening of the future USS William Charette (DDG-130). This Bath-built ship is named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Master Chief Hospital Corpsman William Charette. During the Korean War, Charette shielded a wounded Marine from an enemy grenade with his own body. Despite suffering facial wounds and shock from the blast, he improvised bandages from his clothing and continued treating wounded Marines under enemy fire. His actions were directly responsible for saving many lives. Through this ship, his courage, humility, and devotion to others will continue to inspire generations of sailors,” Collins said.

Bath Iron Works described the ceremony as a proud milestone for the shipyard, noting the guest list included fellow Medal of Honor recipient Col. Harvey C. Barnum Jr., namesake of the Bath-built destroyer DDG 124, alongside Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, Maine Governor Janet Mills, and both of Maine’s U.S. senators, Susan Collins and Angus King.

“Today, Bath Iron Works proudly celebrated an important moment as the future USS William Charette (DDG 130) was formally christened on our drydock. The ceremony’s highlight was the traditional bottle break with sparkling wine, carried out by Ship’s Sponsor Kathryn Charette Donovan, Maid of Honor Michelle Charette and Matron of Honor Sara Charette Wright,” Bath Iron Works said.

The shipyard emphasized the workforce responsible for bringing the vessel to this stage of construction, crediting the skill and dedication of BIW shipbuilders alongside the ship’s chief superintendent, program manager, and hull manager, who supported the sponsors during the bottle-breaking tradition. Bath Iron Works said it expects the future USS William Charette and her crew to uphold the standards reflected in the destroyer’s motto, “Valor in Service.”

DDG 130 belongs to the Flight III variant of the Arleigh Burke class, the Navy’s current production standard for these guided missile destroyers, featuring the AN/SPY-6 air and missile defense radar, a significant upgrade over earlier Arleigh Burke variants that gives the ship substantially improved capability to detect and track ballistic missiles, aircraft, and other airborne threats simultaneously across a wider area. The Arleigh Burke class has served as the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface combatant fleet since the first ship entered service in 1991, and Bath Iron Works has built a significant share of that fleet alongside Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard, the only two facilities in the country currently constructing this class of destroyer.

A christening ceremony marks a significant milestone in a warship’s construction timeline but does not represent the vessel’s entry into active service, since the ship must still complete final outfitting, sea trials, and formal commissioning before joining the operational fleet. That process typically takes additional months following a christening, meaning sailors will not actually crew the future USS William Charette on active deployment for some time yet.