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Carl Edward Carey

USAAF   Captain

DFC,   Air Medal (x3),
Congressional Gold Medal

From St. Louis, Missouri.
Graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis.
Enrolled in Arkansas State College.
Joined the Army Air Corp in 1941.
Trained at Moton Field, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, AL
(one of the early civilian flying schools in the US).
He graduated with class SE-44-H, 8 Sept. 1944 and was subsequently posted to the 332nd Fighter Group.
(known as the "Red Tails" or "The Red Tailed Angels").
This group will forever be known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
He was assigned to fly with the 301st Fighter Squadron.
With that unit he destroyed two FW190s on April Fool's day, 1945 while escorting B-24s to the marshalling yards at St. Polten, Austria. They destroyed 12 of the 16 German planes that attacked them that day.
His brother, James M. Carey was a Master Sgt. in WW2
After the war he married Jeanette Simpson in 1946 and they 		Carl carey
relocated to Detroit where he worked for the US Postal Service & then as a computer programmer for Chrysler Corporation & the City of Detroit.
He finished retiring in the 1980s.
The couple had two daughters, Judy & Jacqueline, and two sons Anthony & Carl Jr., all of Michigan.
Carl Sr. was inducted into the Vashon Hall of Fame in 1991
Sadly, he took his final flight, 30 Sept. 2006, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is buried at the Woodland Cemetery in Detroit. 		 

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Promoted to Captain
Promoted to Captain

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Victories Include :

1 April 1945

 two FW190s destroyed *

2 / 0 / 0

* The book "The 332nd Fighter Group - Tuskegee Airmen" by Chris Bucholtz (Osprey Aviation Elite #24) claims Carey got only one that day but USAF records show he got credit for two.
* The book "The Tuskegee Airmen - The Men Who Changed a Nation 4th Ed. by Charles Francis (Edited, Revised, Up-dated & Enlarged by Adolph Caso) gives credit to a Lt. "Earl" Carey for the two 190s on April 1st. There is no doubt however, that Carl downed the planes (official documents show) as no Earl Carey flew with the 332nd.

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Thanks go out to

daughter Judy for the photos & infos !

On these pages I use Hugh Halliday's extensive research which includes info from numerous sources; newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC); the Google News Archives; the London Gazette Archives and other sources both published and private.

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