 When an enemy grenade landed near Charette and a badly wounded Marine he was aiding, he placed himself on top of the Marine in order to shield him from the explosion, and in doing so, the grenade's blast tore off Charette's helmet and destroyed his medical bag and knocked him unconscious.When he awoke, he found his face bleeding from shrapnel wounds and he couldn't see.He recovered enough to continue to aid Marines in the battle using torn parts of his uniform in order to dress battle wounds.