World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He was the son of a traveling missionary in Shanghai. He attended military school and fought with the Chinese Nationalist Army until his father got him booted by revealing that he had yet to turn 18 years old. After riding a merchant ship to Manila and being rebuffed when he tried to enlist in the United States Army, he joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American volunteers in the Spanish Loyalists' fight against General Francisco Franco's fascist regime. That 2 1/2-year experience exposed him to fierce combat, got him captured and later cast a political cloud over his loyalty to the United States. Many of those in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade turned out to be members of the United States Communist Party, a fact that tarnished the reputations and careers of the hundreds who weren't. It was on his return from Spain, that he joined the United States Army. After basic training he was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned as a mess sergeant in the 3535 Quartermaster Truck Company. He made sergeant in less than a year, and was made mess sergeant of the officers' club. On November 13, 1944, his truck company arrived in Europe and was assigned to transporting supplies to the fighting forces. For three months straight, he began every day by volunteering for combat. No luck. By late February of 1945, however, things had changed. The Battle of the Bulge had cut through the Army's infantry ranks like a scythe. Reinforcements were needed desperately. Army brass appealed for volunteers among black troops. He was among the first chosen. Like the other 2,600 black volunteers, he was forced to give up his rank and become a private. He stripped off his sergeant stripes and awaited assignment. It didn't take long. His unit was organized into the 1st Provisional Company, assigned to the 12th Armored Division, then assigned again to the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion. It wasn't long until they gave him his staff sergeant stripes back. Then they made him a squad leader of Infantry. The 12th Armored Division was detached to General George Patton's 3rd Army. On March 23, 1945, the 12th Armored was speeding toward the city of Speyer. There was a bridge over the Rhine there, still intact. The 714th Tank Battalion was leading the way, the black volunteers were clinging to the backs of the 714th's rumbling Shermans. Suddenly, German antitank rockets started screaming through the air, and machine-gun fire roared. His squad took cover. He noticed that the rocket fire was coming from a large warehouse ahead of him. He volunteered to lead a three-man patrol to take the warehouse. Clambering over the embankment, he saw one of his men cut down instantly. He ordered the other two to turn back. Before they could reach the embankment, one was killed, the other wounded. He ran on alone. Before he reached the barn surrounding the warehouse, he'd taken five bullets and three pieces of shrapnel. He crawled the last few yards, blood and dirt staining his fatigues. For two hours, he waited. Finally, convinced he was dead, an eight-man patrol came out to make sure. Waiting for his moment, he opened up with his .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun. Within seconds, six Germans were dead. He took the other two prisoner. Using the two as human shields, he marched back across the open field to his company. His commanding officer wanted him evacuated to a medic's tent so his wounds could be treated. He refused. Instead, he climbed the stairs to the observation post and pointed out several German machine-gun nests. Then he turned his prisoners over for interrogation. Utilizing his information, the road to Speyer was cleared, and the city was taken in two days. Less than a month later, he reported back to his commanding officer, ready for duty. A few days after that the commanding officer got a telegram from the Army hospital in the rear, reporting that he was missing, apparently gone AWOL from the hospital. Word was sent that it was ok and that he was back with his unit. He soldiered on to the end of the war in Germany. In July of 1945, his commanding officer signed a recommendation that he be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest decoration for valor in combat. The DSC was approved, one of only nine awarded to black soldiers for heroism during the war. After the war he went back to civilian life but was not happy so he decided that it was time to get back in uniform. The Army snapped him up for a three-year tour at his old rank. Not long after that, he was promoted to sergeant first class. The brass chose Carter and two other senior noncommissioned officers to train and organize a new all-black National Guard engineer unit in Southern California. Almost from the moment he re-enlisted, however, the old questions about his involvment in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were raised again. Army counterintelligence investigators came to interview Carter. On September 21, 1949, when his enlistment ended, he announced his intention to re-enlist for another tour, however his commanders said no. He would not be allowed to re-enlist, they said, without the specific permission of the adjutant general of the Army. He was stunned. After years of trying to find out what the problem was and running into walls of silence, he lived out the rest of his life on the West coast working at a tire plant. Late in 1962, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on January 30, 1963, without an inkling that he would become, more than three decades later, California's most decorated black hero of World War II. He was buried in the Sawtelle National Cemetery in Los Angeles. That might have been the end, except for a study undertaken by the United States Army in 1995 to 1996 to determine why no black soldiers in World War II had received a Medal of Honor. The study focused on the nine black soldiers, who had earned the DSC. A special Army Awards Board panel determined that seven of those DSC recipients, himself included, should have their awards upgraded to the highest combat award, the Medal of Honor. President William J. Clinton in 1997 righted some of the wrongs inflicted on him during his lifetime when he posthumously awarded him this country's highest decoration for heroism in combat, the Medal of Honor. His citation reads:When the tank on which he was riding received heavy bazooka and small arms fire, Sergeant Carter voluntarily attempted to lead a three-man group across an open field. Within a short time, two of his men were killed and the third seriously wounded. Continuing on alone, he was wounded five times and finally forced to take cover. As eight enemy riflemen attempted to capture him, Sergeant Carter killed six of them and captured the remaining two. He then crossed the field using as a shield his two prisoners from which he obtained valuable information concerning the disposition of enemy troops. Staff Sergeant Carter's extraordinary heroism was an inspiration to the officers and men of the Seventh Army Infantry Company Number 1 (Provisional) and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces. Later, General John Keane, the Army's vice chief of staff, presented his family with a set of corrected military records to remove the stain of suspicion that declassified Army intelligence records show had no basis in fact. Keane said he regretted this sad chapter in Army history and apologized. President Clinton later in a personal letter to his wife also apologized. The day after he was awarded the Medal of Honor, this American hero was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery.
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He was the son of a traveling missionary in Shanghai. He attended military school and fought with the Chinese Nationalist Army until his father got him booted by revealing that he had yet to turn 18 years old. After riding a merchant ship to Manila and being rebuffed when he tried to enlist in the United States Army, he joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American volunteers in the Spanish Loyalists' fight against General Francisco Franco's fascist regime. That 2 1/2-year experience exposed him to fierce combat, got him captured and later cast a political cloud over his loyalty to the United States. Many of those in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade turned out to be members of the United States Communist Party, a fact that tarnished the reputations and careers of the hundreds who weren't. It was on his return from Spain, that he joined the United States Army. After basic training he was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned as a mess sergeant in the 3535 Quartermaster Truck Company. He made sergeant in less than a year, and was made mess sergeant of the officers' club. On November 13, 1944, his truck company arrived in Europe and was assigned to transporting supplies to the fighting forces. For three months straight, he began every day by volunteering for combat. No luck. By late February of 1945, however, things had changed. The Battle of the Bulge had cut through the Army's infantry ranks like a scythe. Reinforcements were needed desperately. Army brass appealed for volunteers among black troops. He was among the first chosen. Like the other 2,600 black volunteers, he was forced to give up his rank and become a private. He stripped off his sergeant stripes and awaited assignment. It didn't take long. His unit was organized into the 1st Provisional Company, assigned to the 12th Armored Division, then assigned again to the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion. It wasn't long until they gave him his staff sergeant stripes back. Then they made him a squad leader of Infantry. The 12th Armored Division was detached to General George Patton's 3rd Army. On March 23, 1945, the 12th Armored was speeding toward the city of Speyer. There was a bridge over the Rhine there, still intact. The 714th Tank Battalion was leading the way, the black volunteers were clinging to the backs of the 714th's rumbling Shermans. Suddenly, German antitank rockets started screaming through the air, and machine-gun fire roared. His squad took cover. He noticed that the rocket fire was coming from a large warehouse ahead of him. He volunteered to lead a three-man patrol to take the warehouse. Clambering over the embankment, he saw one of his men cut down instantly. He ordered the other two to turn back. Before they could reach the embankment, one was killed, the other wounded. He ran on alone. Before he reached the barn surrounding the warehouse, he'd taken five bullets and three pieces of shrapnel. He crawled the last few yards, blood and dirt staining his fatigues. For two hours, he waited. Finally, convinced he was dead, an eight-man patrol came out to make sure. Waiting for his moment, he opened up with his .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun. Within seconds, six Germans were dead. He took the other two prisoner. Using the two as human shields, he marched back across the open field to his company. His commanding officer wanted him evacuated to a medic's tent so his wounds could be treated. He refused. Instead, he climbed the stairs to the observation post and pointed out several German machine-gun nests. Then he turned his prisoners over for interrogation. Utilizing his information, the road to Speyer was cleared, and the city was taken in two days. Less than a month later, he reported back to his commanding officer, ready for duty. A few days after that the commanding officer got a telegram from the Army hospital in the rear, reporting that he was missing, apparently gone AWOL from the hospital. Word was sent that it was ok and that he was back with his unit. He soldiered on to the end of the war in Germany. In July of 1945, his commanding officer signed a recommendation that he be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest decoration for valor in combat. The DSC was approved, one of only nine awarded to black soldiers for heroism during the war. After the war he went back to civilian life but was not happy so he decided that it was time to get back in uniform. The Army snapped him up for a three-year tour at his old rank. Not long after that, he was promoted to sergeant first class. The brass chose Carter and two other senior noncommissioned officers to train and organize a new all-black National Guard engineer unit in Southern California. Almost from the moment he re-enlisted, however, the old questions about his involvment in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were raised again. Army counterintelligence investigators came to interview Carter. On September 21, 1949, when his enlistment ended, he announced his intention to re-enlist for another tour, however his commanders said no. He would not be allowed to re-enlist, they said, without the specific permission of the adjutant general of the Army. He was stunned. After years of trying to find out what the problem was and running into walls of silence, he lived out the rest of his life on the West coast working at a tire plant. Late in 1962, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on January 30, 1963, without an inkling that he would become, more than three decades later, California's most decorated black hero of World War II. He was buried in the Sawtelle National Cemetery in Los Angeles. That might have been the end, except for a study undertaken by the United States Army in 1995 to 1996 to determine why no black soldiers in World War II had received a Medal of Honor. The study focused on the nine black soldiers, who had earned the DSC. A special Army Awards Board panel determined that seven of those DSC recipients, himself included, should have their awards upgraded to the highest combat award, the Medal of Honor. President William J. Clinton in 1997 righted some of the wrongs inflicted on him during his lifetime when he posthumously awarded him this country's highest decoration for heroism in combat, the Medal of Honor. His citation reads:When the tank on which he was riding received heavy bazooka and small arms fire, Sergeant Carter voluntarily attempted to lead a three-man group across an open field. Within a short time, two of his men were killed and the third seriously wounded. Continuing on alone, he was wounded five times and finally forced to take cover. As eight enemy riflemen attempted to capture him, Sergeant Carter killed six of them and captured the remaining two. He then crossed the field using as a shield his two prisoners from which he obtained valuable information concerning the disposition of enemy troops. Staff Sergeant Carter's extraordinary heroism was an inspiration to the officers and men of the Seventh Army Infantry Company Number 1 (Provisional) and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces. Later, General John Keane, the Army's vice chief of staff, presented his family with a set of corrected military records to remove the stain of suspicion that declassified Army intelligence records show had no basis in fact. Keane said he regretted this sad chapter in Army history and apologized. President Clinton later in a personal letter to his wife also apologized. The day after he was awarded the Medal of Honor, this American hero was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/471406/edward_allen-carter: accessed
), memorial page for Edward Allen Carter Jr. (26 May 1916–30 Jan 1963), Find a Grave Memorial ID 471406, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington,
Arlington County,
Virginia,
USA;
Maintained by Find a Grave.
Add Photos for Edward Allen Carter Jr.
Fulfill Photo Request for Edward Allen Carter Jr.
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.