Born: July 9, 1926
Died:
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan (wounded)
Highest Rank Attained: Private First Class
Decorations: Purple Heart
Kenneth Carpenter joined Baker Company from training at Camp Elliott, California, on January 7, 1944. Less than a week later, he was sailing for combat aboard the USS DuPage.
Carpenter served as a rifleman during the battle of Namur, and was reassigned as a platoon messenger while the battalion recouperated at Camp Maui.
PFC Carpenter participated in the assault on Saipan, but was wounded and evacuated on June 17, 1944. The seventeen-year-old Marine spent several months in the hospital; upon his release, he was judged fit for duty behind the lines. Carpenter returned to Baker Company, but muster rolls indicate that he did not participate in the battle of Iwo Jima.