Subject
Edward Carter Jr.; Medal of Honor; WWII
Description
Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward Allen Carter Jr. dealt with a lot of discrimination during World War II, but his determination to be part of the fight kept the pain of that at bay. His heroics in Germany in 1945 were downplayed for years, and he was even discharged unceremoniously for reasons he later learned had no basis in fact. After 50 years, though, those wrongs were finally righted, and Carter was posthumously given the Medal of Honor.
Carter was born on May 26, 1916, in Los Angeles to missionaries Edward Sr. and Mary Carter. He had two younger siblings, William and Miriam.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward Allen Carter Jr., Medal of Honor recipient.
When Carter was 9, his parents moved the family to Calcutta, India, so they could start a church in his mother’s homeland. While there, Carter became enthralled by the military and often snuck away to watch troops maneuver at a nearby British army base, according to the Association of the U.S. Army.
At some point, Carter’s mother abandoned him, leaving him with his father, according to a biography written by a family member. In 1927, the boy’s father then moved him and his siblings to Shanghai, where Carter was enrolled in a military school. He received extensive combat training and learned several languages, including German, Mandarin and Hindi.
By the age of 15, Carter was so determined to get involved in the military that he ran away from home and joined the Chinese Nationalist Army, which was fighting Japanese troops who had invaded Shanghai in hopes of controlling the area’s natural resources. Carter wasn’t with the army long before his father tracked him down and brought him home, but he was there long enough to earn the rank of lieutenant, a Department of Veterans Affairs article said.
Roadblocks
Carter tried to join the U.S. Army when he was 18, but he was rejected because of racial prejudices. He moved back to Los Angeles and, in 1936, joined the Merchant Marine instead. But that still wasn’t enough action for him. By early 1937, he’d heard about the Spanish Civil War and decided to make his way to Spain, where he joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade – an American volunteer military unit that fought against Gen. Francisco Franco and his fascist troops. By 1938, though, the unit was forced to flee to France, so Carter returned home.
Back in Los Angeles, Carter met Mildred Hoover in 1940. They married and had a son, Edward III. By September 1941, Carter tried to enlist in the U.S. Army again. This time, the U.S. buildup of troops due to World War II had begun, and he was accepted.
However, his time in the service wasn’t easy. Carter trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, which was still segregated, so he and many other Black enlistees faced discrimination. Despite his prior military combat experiences, Carter was relegated to being a cook and a baker, as most Black men were at the time, according to AUSA. According to the VA, many Black men wouldn’t put up with the discrimination and were dishonorably discharged. Carter, however, didn’t want that, so he dealt with it, despite receiving several unjust demotions.
Carter still managed to rise to the rank of staff sergeant. While at Fort Benning, he and his wife had their second son, William.
Creator
By Katie Lange , DOD News
Source
Publisher
defense.gov
File
