Edward Allen Carter Jr. (May 26, 1916 – January 30, 1963) was a US Army sergeant first class who was wounded in action during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously for his actions on March 23, 1945, near Speyer, Germany. He became one of the seven first and only African American soldiers to be awarded with this medal during the war.
Early Life[]
Carter was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1916. He was the son of missionaries; an African American father and an East Indian mother. Carter grew up in India and then moved to Shanghai, China. He is fluent in 4 languages: English, Hindi, German and Mandarin.
Serving with China and Spain[]
While in Shanghai in 1932, Carter ran away from home and joined the National Revolutionary Army fighting against the invading Japanese during the Shanghai Incident. After reaching the rank of Lieutenant, Carter had to leave when it was discovered that he lied about his age and he was 15 years old. During the Spanish Civil War, he eventually made his way to Spain and joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, an American volunteer unit supporting the Spanish Republicans in their fight against the Nationalists.
World War II[]
When Carter returned to the United States, he entered the U.S. Army on September 26, 1941. As a result of his previous combat experience, he stood out among the other recruits. In less than a year, he had achieved the rank of staff sergeant. Carter was part of the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 12th Armored Division. Provisional platoons of African-American troops were established in the wake of the Battle of the Bulge, which took place during the winter of 1944–1945. Black support and combat-support soldiers were allowed to volunteer for combat duty and were given brief training in small-unit tactics. Formed into provisional units, they were used to augment depleted divisions. Soldiers volunteering for this combat duty had to surrender their current rank. When the provisional companies were set up Carter volunteered and went from a staff sergeant to a private.
The Act[]
On March 23, 1945, Carter, then a 28-year-old infantry staff sergeant, was riding on a Sherman tank when it was hit by a Panzerschreck. Dismounted, Carter led three soldiers across an open field. In the process, two of the men were killed and the other wounded. Carter continued on alone and was wounded five times before being forced to take cover. Eight German soldiers tried to capture him, but he killed six and captured the remaining two. He used the two as human shields from enemy fire as he recrossed the field. His prisoners provided valuable information on enemy troop dispositions for his unit. For this, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on October 4, 1945, and later promoted to sergeant first class.
Death[]
In 1949, Carter was refused re-enlistment in the Army due to allegations that he had communist contacts and allegiances, related to his affiliation with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and a "Welcome Home Joe" dinner He died of lung cancer that was attributed to shrapnel remaining in his neck on January 30, 1963. He was 47 years old, he was buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery and re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery in 1997.
Legacy[]
In the early 1990s, it was determined that black soldiers had been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor in World War II because of their race. In 1993, the Army contracted Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, to research and determine if there was racial disparity in the review process for recipients of the Medal of Honor. A study commissioned by the Army described systematic racial discrimination in the criteria for awarding decorations during World War II. In 1996, after an exhaustive review of files, the study recommended that ten black Americans who served in World War II be awarded the Medal of Honor. In October of that year, Congress passed legislation that would allow the Medal of Honor to be passed to seven out of the ten former soldiers. The Medal of Honor was given to Carter's son, the descendants of the other five black Americans, and 1Lt Vernon Baker who was the only still-living recipient on January 12, 1997 and out of the seven, six had their Distinguished Service Crosses revoked and upgraded.