Frederick Joseph Carlson was born on November 18, 1944 in Brooklyn, N.Y. He enrolled at Saint Peter’s College in 1962 and graduated on June 5, 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in English before joining the United States Army. He became a private first class in D Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division of the United States Army in Vietnam.

Delta Company was deployed to Duc Pho, Vietnam, in January 1968. Pvt. Carlson’s tour of duty in Vietnam started on July 19, 1968. On September 26, 1968, his platoon was moving through a hedgerow when a booby-trapped hand grenade detonated, killing Pvt. Carlson.  He was 23 years old.

The body of Pvt. Carlson was returned home and buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.