1. A Belated Medal of Honor
Carter tried to reenlist in 1949, but by then the Red Scare was on and America was gripped by anticommunist hysteria. His background in China, which had recently fallen to the communists, and in the Spanish Civil War, where he had fought in the leftist Abraham Lincoln Brigade, made him suspect. Carter’s reenlistment was rejected, and he was discharged from the Army. He resumed civilian life, worked in the tire business, and became a dedicated family man. In 1962, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, which doctors attributed to wartime shrapnel still embedded in his neck. It killed him the following year. His wartime heroics had earned a recommendation for a Medal of Honor, but due to racism, it was downgraded to a Distinguished Service. The injustice was finally corrected in 1997, and Carter was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor his actions had earned him in 1945.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
California Center for Military History – Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter, Medal of Honor Recipient
History Collection – Lesser Known Civil Rights Moments That Changed Everything
US Army Online – Medal of Honor: African American Hero Recognized Decades After Brave Act
US Department of Defense – Medal of Honor Monday: Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward Carter Jr.
