Soldier Who Used the Enemy as Human Shields

The soldier who used his body as a human shield. Lying on the floor, severely injured and bleeding after having been shot six times, US Army Private Edward Carter hardly had time to assess the situation before yet another bullet ripped through his hand. This was the moment that all his training at the Chinese Military Academy would come to the fore. He would go on, even if it meant taking every single round of ammunition they could throw at him. Born in Los Angeles in 1916, Edward Carter's father was African American, while his mother had an English and Indian background. After spending his formative years in America, the nine-year-old Carter and his brother and sister moved to Calcutta, India, after their parents opened up a church there. It was while living near a British military base that he had his first encounter with Army life. Inspired by the pomp and splendor of the local soldiers, he vowed to become a great warrior just like them, although first he would have to work on his discipline. As a teenager who had a bad relationship with his father, Carter was somewhat of a rebellious youth who'd run away from home at least twice. This was exacerbated by the troubled marriage of his parents, which came to a rather dramatic end when his mother stole all of the church's money and ran off with the church treasurer. Left penniless by his own mother, Carter, his siblings, and his dad had no choice but to get on a boat and return to the United States to start over. Sailing east, their journey took an unexpected turn when they were forced off the ship in Shanghai, China, when it became apparent that William had contracted typhoid, a highly contagious disease. While his little boy recuperated, Carter's father got to know the local missionaries and soon made the decision to settle there. Eager to instill discipline into his wayward son, Carter's concerned father signed him up to a Chinese military academy while further integrating himself into Chinese society. He did very well because eventually he was brushing shoulders with some of the most influential families in the country. Among his close acquaintances were the wife, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law of Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of Nationalist China and later founder of the Nation of Taiwan. Carter got his first taste of battlefield action in 1932 when he volunteered to fight against the Japanese who had attacked the northern region of Manchuria. Without asking for his father's permission, he joined a joint British-Chinese force tasked with expelling the invaders. The 15-year-old proved himself a natural leader when he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant after only a month. His tour of duty, though, would be cut short when his father tracked him down and took him back home. Eager to experience the thrill of battle once more, when he was 18 he went to the American consulate in Shanghai to ask them if he could fight the Italians who were waging a war of conquest in Ethiopia at the time. His request was denied but he didn't leave the embassy entirely empty-handed. Instead, he was accepted into a position in the Merchant Marines. After a couple of years traversing the oceans and transporting cargo and passengers around the globe, Carter eventually wound up back in Los Angeles where he struggled to find work because of the color of his skin. As a result, when he heard that a civil war had broken out across the Atlantic in Spain, he jumped at the chance to get involved. Fighting on the side of the Socialist Second Republic against the nationalists who were supported by Hitler and led by General Franco, he became part of the all-American Abraham Lincoln Brigade. During his service he was wounded and captured but in the end he was able to escape and rejoin his men. But when the tide of conflict started turning in the favor of the nationalists in 1939, he left to go back to California. There he met his sweetheart Mildred Hoover who would go on to become the first black violinist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Yet even Mildred was not enough to dissuade him from going back into the fray when the U.S. entered World War II in 1941. Carter immediately enlisted and despite experiencing discrimination on a daily basis, he climbed up the ranks to become Staff Sergeant of the 3535th Quartermaster Truck Company. This was because for the first part of the conflict, black servicemen weren't trusted with weapons so were usually given support roles. This however changed as casualties mounted up. When all black infantry squads commanded by white officers were formed to make up for the killed and injured, Carter was one of the first to sign up. As part of the agreement he was demoted to the rank of private but it wasn't long until his abilities were recognized. Because of his professionalism and experience, he became the first ever black volunteer to become a squad leader. Medal of Honor. On March 23, 1945 as Allied forces were tightening the noose on Germany, he would prove that his promotion was more than justified. That day Carter and his company were tasked with capturing a bridge over the Rhine River as a part of a wider effort to capture the strategically important city of Speyer that lay on the other side. At about 8.30am he was riding a tank on his way to the objective when his company was suddenly ambushed by enemy fire. Sprinting to a bank on the side of the road for cover, three other men accompanied him on a patrol to a warehouse where the attackers were shooting from. Their goal was to scope out the size and strength of the opposing force but to achieve this they would first have to cross 150 yards of open ground. As soon as they left cover they were instantly targeted and one of the brave volunteers was killed. Realizing they were far too exposed, Carter ordered the two surviving members to provide covering fire from the safety of the bank while he crossed the field of death alone. But as the pair ran back, one was shot dead and the other was seriously wounded. Still, the squad leader pressed on. Amid the blizzard of machine gun fire he was shot three times in the left arm yet he still kept moving. Then a heavy blow to his leg knocked him off his feet and he collapsed to the ground. With his mind still fixed firmly on the job, he took a swig of his canteen to wash down some wound tablets just before another bullet mangled his hand. He was now riddled with holes and the lesser soldier may have just given up there and then. But not Carter. He just kept going. Unable to walk, he crawled instead until he was within 30 yards of the warehouse. Slumping his battered body behind a riverbank, he rested for two hours when the enemy fire became too intense. From the outside it looked like he was a goner. The Germans knew exactly where he was and an eight-man party was now zeroing in on him. Carter, however, was one step ahead, having concealed his position. As the patrol approached, six of them were killed in quick succession by a surprise attack and the remaining two were captured. Utilizing his German language skills, the ambusher interrogated them, receiving critical intel regarding enemy positions that helped commanders clear the route to spare. It was only once Carter had briefed his superiors on what he had discovered that he accepted medical treatment. In the end, because of racist attitudes within the army, he was only decorated with the military's second highest medal, the Distinguished Service Cross. What followed was nothing short of criminal. Because he had lived and trained in China and had fought with the Socialist Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain, in the post-war years Carter's reputation was destroyed by an American government who strongly and falsely suspected him of being a communist. As a result, he was discharged from the army without explanation in 1949 and he would struggle to find employment as a civilian because of the accusations surrounding him. In 1962, the hero that was Edward Carter died of lung cancer at the tragically young age of 43, having been treated with nothing but contempt by the country he had so valiantly fought for. Sadly, he would never live to see his reputation restored and his heroic feat properly acknowledged. On January 13th, 1997, Carter's son, Edward Carter III, received a Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton on behalf of his deceased father, when a study looking into discrimination in the US Army revealed how badly he had been mistreated. The next day, Carter's remains were resettled at Arlington National Cemetery, where he now rightfully rests among a pantheon of fellow American war heroes.