Albert John Carpenter is from Ely, Nevada. After graduating from Elko County High SChoo, Elko, Nevada, in 1927, he worked for two years in the Auditor's Office of the Southern Pacific Railroad Co., in San Francisco.
Passing a competitive examination, he entered the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn., with an appointment as cadet on August 4, 1930. He was graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree and commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Coast Guard on May 15, 1933.
Following is a resume of his subsequent appointments in rank: Lieutenant (jg), May 15, 1936; Lieutenant, July 16, 1939; Lieut. Commander, October 1, 1942; Commander, January 1, 1944; Captain, November 1, 1955; Rear Admiral, July 1, 1963.
At the outset of his career as an officer, he served for five years in three different vessels of the Coast Guard Bering Sea Patrol force. The first of that trio, where he was assigned as watch officer, was the Cutter Shoshone which operated out of Oakland, Calif. The second, in which he was the navigator, was the Cutter Atalanta, based at Seattle,. He commanded the third, the Cutter Morris, out of Seward, Alaska.
World War II
He was instructor of mathematics and navigation to the regular cadets at the Coast Guard Academy from June 1938 until October 1942, during World War II. The following year he was in charge of the Reserve Training School located then at the Academy.
Between October 1943 and February 1944, he was taking vessel command courses at the Coast Guard Training Station in St. Augustine, Fla., and at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Miami. He was then assigned as prospective commanding officer of the Patrol Frigate USS Sheboygan (PF-57), which was being built at that time at a Wisconsin shipyard. As such he assembled a crew and ferried the frigate from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River to Tampa, Florida, for completion and outfitting. After her commissioning in October 1944, he commanded the Sheboygan on patrol duty out of Argentia, Newfoundland, as a unit of Task Force 24.
Post War
From July 1945 to July 1949, RADM Carpenter served as Assistant Chief, Administrative Management at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C. After next commanding the Cutter Cherokee out of Norfolk, Va., for a year, he returned to his former position at Headquarters in July 1950. He became Chief, Administrative Management Division in august 1951.
He commanded the 327-ft. Cutter Taney out of San Francisco from September 1954 to April 1956. During the next two years he was Commander, Mariannas Section in the Pacific.
After attending the National War College from August 1958 to June 1959, he served three more years at Coast Guard Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Commandant. During that period he was named Executive Secretary and Member of the U.S. Delegation to the 1960 International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea, convened at London, and as American Representative at the International Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) conference from 1959-61.
In July 1962, he became Chief of Staff of the 8th Coast Guard District, New Orleans. Following the then Captain's appointment as flag officer to rank as permanent Rear Admiral from July 1, 1963, RADM Carpenter was designated Commander of the 2nd Coast Guard District, St. Louis.
On July 1, 1966, RADM Carpenter became Commander, 11th Coast Guard District, Long Beach, Cal., having under his jurisdiction Coast Guard activities in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Southwestern Utah and Arizona, and nearly 1,300 officers and men.
In June 1967, RADM Carpenter assumed the dual post of Commander, Eastern Area and Commander, Third Coast Guard District, New York. He retired from that post on July 1, 1968, with 35 years of Coast Guard service.
RADM Carpenter is married to the former Lucille S. of Fullerton, Nebraska. They have one son, John L. who attended Baylor University's School of Medicine.