Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward A. Carter Jr. was born in Los Angeles to missionary parents and grew up in India and Shanghai. That background gave him a wide exposure to the world, and he became fluent in Hindu, Mandarin and German in addition to his native English.
In 1932, Carter, then 15, ran away from home and joined the Chinese National Revolutionary Army to fight against the Japanese invasion. He reached the rank of lieutenant before getting kicked out of the army once his commanding officers discovered his real age.
He drifted and ended up in Spain, where he joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and fought on the side of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. When Carter entered the U.S. Army in September 1941, he immediately stood out because of his previous combat service.
Carter was shipped to Europe but, because he was Black and the Army was still segregated, was forced to serve as a cook and a baker in a transportation unit.
After the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-1945, the Army was desperate for reinforcements, and Black soldiers were allowed to volunteer for combat. Carter was assigned to the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 12th Armored Division,
On March 23, 1945, Carter was riding atop a tank as it was hit by a German rocket. He led three soldiers away from the blaze and tried to cross a field. Two were killed by enemy fire and the other was seriously wounded. Carter continued to make the…
