USS Charles J. French

Not to be confused with USS French (DE-367).

History
United States
Name	Charles J. French
Namesake	Charles Jackson French
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Identification	Hull number: DDG-142
Status	Authorized for construction
General characteristics
Class and type	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement	9,217 tons (full load)
Length	510 ft (160 m)
Beam	66 ft (20 m)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Speed	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Complement	380 officers and enlisted
Armament	Guns: 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun) 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS 2 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 machine gun system 4 × 0.50 inches (12.7 mm) caliber guns Missiles: 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells) Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS): RIM-66M surface-to-air missile RIM-156 surface-to-air missile RIM-174A standard ERAM RIM-161 anti-ballistic missile RIM-162 ESSM (quad-packed) BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC Torpedoes: 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes: Mark 46 lightweight torpedo Mark 50 lightweight torpedo Mark 54 lightweight torpedo
Armor	Kevlar-type armor with steel hull. Numerous passive survivability measures.
Aircraft carried	2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters
Aviation facilities	Double hangar and helipad

USS Charles J. French (DDG-142) is a planned Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, the 92nd overall of the class, named for Charles J. French.

Naming

She is named for Steward's Mate 1st Class Charles J. French, an African American cook serving in the US Navy during WWII was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroic actions not involving direct contact with an armed enemy. US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced the name on 10 January 2024 in honor of a sailor whose heroics has long been over-looked.

Historical background

French was serving in the Pacific aboard the destroyer USS Gregory when his ship was sunk at Guadalcanal on 4 September 1942. As the crew were abandoning ship, the Japanese began shelling helpess men in the water. French collected a group of wounded shipmates onto a makeshift raft which was attached to his waist with a rope. He then spent the next eight hours swimming through the shark-infested waters towing the raft carrying approximately fifteen shipmates to safety. Despite saving these lives, and the multiple recommendations to decorate French with a higher level medal or award for his valor, such as the Navy Cross, all were rejected by the military. Instead he only received a personal letter of commendation from Admiral William Halsey.