Bio

WWII Ace Fighter Pilot, Carl J. Carlson Jr. was born in Duluth, MN in August of 1919. He became an Ace after achieving seven confirmed kills. His plane was named after his wife, my adoptive mother, Alice Marie (Alvar) Carlson. The Alice Marie was a good plane for him, as he flew all of his fighter missions and made it home un-wounded. After WWII, Carl Carlson was stationed with his family at Edwards Air Force Base in California, then transferred to Greece and The Philippines. In 1959 he was transferred to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C. Also stationed at Bolling at that time were General Curtis LeMay ("Bombs Away LeMay"), commander of the WWII bombings of Japan and General William Westmoreland (a Commander of the war in Vietnam.) My father, Carl J. Carlson Jr. was promoted to the rank of Colonel and transferred to Andrews Air Force Base (home of the presidential planes) in Maryland in 1962. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in November 1964 and died of lung cancer on June 6, 1965. He is buried at Fort Snelling Military Cemetery in our native Minnesota.