Carlos V. Reed was born in December 1923 in Los Angeles, California. He was an only child. Before he was one year old, his mother moved them to Mexico because she did not like the California weather. It was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Reed's father died before he was born. His mother worked for a family in Los Angeles. Her family was in Mexico which is a reason why she moved there. His town was in northern Mexico, about 40 miles from the border. Reed returned to the United States in 1938. It was hard to leave everyone he knew behind. Living in Mexico during the Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s] was harder than in the United States because his mother was able to get unemployment until she found work. Reed started working at 16 years old and helped support his mother. He worked as a ranch hand on a cattle ranch. Reed also started working for W.E. Webb. He worked at the Douglas Airport [Annotator's Note: in Douglas, Arizona] in the late 1930s. Reed stopped going to school until a few years after returning to the United States. He worked in the CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps] camps until 1941. His mother volunteered for the CCC as well. He learned how to march, use a rifle, and do road work. He was stationed near Tucson [Annotator's Note: Tucson, Arizona] in the mountains. Reed was in Bisbee, Arizona when he heard about the attack at Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was working in the copper mines. At 19 years old, Reed was drafted into the service and served for the duration of the war. His draft notice came in mid 1943 and he was discharged in 1946. He was drafted through the mail. He does not think his mother was happy about it but he was excited. Everyone was eager to be in the service. Reed was drafted into the Army and was trained to be a soldier. He did his boot camp in Camp Roberts, California [Annotator's Note: in San Miguel, California]. During the last 13 days of training, he went to Fort Ord [Annotator's Note: near Monterey, California].

Carlos Reed was sent to New Guinea in 1944. He was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division as a replacement. After the Battle of New Guinea [Annotator's Note: Battle of New Guinea, 23 January 1942 through 15 August 1945], Reed was sent to Luzon [Annotator's Note: Luzon, Philippines] in the Philippines. He was in the first wave during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf [Annotator's Note: Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, 3 January through 13 January 1945]. That was the first time he had left the United States. Reed knew the men in his unit from basic training. He served in Company D. Reed landed in an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. He jumped off of his landing craft, but some of the boats did not make it all the way to shore. When some men jumped, they landed in the water, not on land. Many men were lost because of that. There was little resistance on the beach, they [Annotator's Note: the Japanese] were farther back in the mountains. At first, Reed was afraid, but after a few days the fear disappeared and it became a job. All of his training helped him. He stopped paying attention to the bullets around him and kept moving forward. Reed's superiors were very helpful. Reed was sent to win a war. Reed had everything he needed. He used the M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand], which was a nine pound rifle. It took a few days for Reed to get used to the fighting. He has a flag with all the names of the men of his platoon. He did not have food too often, but kitchens were brought up to the front line sometimes. The men were not too worried about the food because they carried three days of C rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food]. They would be excited when offered a hot meal, even if it was raining. Reed remained in the Philippines from 9 January 1945 through October 1945. When the war ended in September, Reed's unit was chosen to occupy Korea. He was discharged on 14 January 1946. Korea was the coldest place on Earth. Combat continued for the division for 112 days, which was a record in the Pacific. He has a record of all 112 days in writing. The most horrific thing Reed saw was on the ship between New Guinea and the Philippines. They were attacked by Japanese Zeros [Annotator's Note: Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter aircraft, referred to as the Zeke or Zero]. One plane, acting as a Kamikaze [Annotator's Note: Japanese suicide pilot], hit one of the turrets, knocking it out. Reed was one of the men chosen to clean up the mess and found the pilot welded to the plane. The man's brains were out of his head and they had to push the plane overboard with him in it. On the island, the combat was how people told him it was in training. Everything was difficult in combat. Reed did not sleep much and lost his appetite. Reed did not get close to many people, but did have a group of friends. He did not have any difficulties after the war. Reed was in the mountains of the Philippines when he heard about the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. After the war ended, the Japanese on the island were told to surrender, but they would not. Reed had to fight his way out of the mountains. He knew it was over, but the Japanese refused to believe it.

Carlos Reed had to search all the houses and disarm all the civilians in Korea. He had to find the enemy from within. He did not see much of a difference between Korean and Japanese cultures. The civilians gave up their arms, but did not like being searched. Korea was not involved much in the war with America. It was peaceful when Reed was there. He went as far north as the 38th parallel [Annotator's Note: the location of the present day Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, which acts as the border between North Korea and South Korea] and the Russians took the northern half of the country. People were under surveillance. Reed did patrols in the town until he had enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to go home. Reed does not remember any destruction in Korea. He was told he would be home by Christmas [Annotator's Note: Christmas 1945]. Everyone was happy when they got on the ship. About halfway to the United States, smallpox was discovered on the ship and Reed was quarantined on the Columbia River [Annotator's Note: in Washington State], which is where he spent Christmas. The Red Cross [Annotator's Note: an international aid organization] brought a barge full of presents. Everyone on the ship wanted to kill the man with smallpox. Reed was a staff sergeant and was asked if he wanted to remain in the Army. He was offered a 90 day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and then he would return to Korea. Reed, however, wanted to return home. They offered to make him a second lieutenant. When he returned home, Reed went back to work in the mines. He bought a house in Bisbee [Annotator's Note: Bisbee, Arizona] and did not have to pay anything in taxes. Reed was given 21 dollars a month for 26 weeks while he got used to living in civilian life again. Reed did not go back to school. He retired in 1987 from being a salesman for an aluminum company. He married his wife in 1962 and had two children that also served in the military. Reed thinks his service influenced them. His final rank in the military was staff sergeant.

Carlos Reed does not think about his service much. He has memories of the war, but he does not think it made a difference in how he acts or lives. He believes he helped save the country from being taken over by the Axis [Annotator's Note: the Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan]. Reed believes the history of the war should live forever. He thinks veterans all have different memories and points of view and they should all be in the history books. Service people were always waiting to see when it would end. Reed's children know his story and love him very much. His older son helped him get records from the 6th Infantry Division, which they both served in. His son was stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska [Annotator's Note: near Fairbanks, Alaska]. When Reed visited, his son told his commander. Reed was shot in the Philippines and received the Purple Heart [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is an award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy]. The bullet went through his bone, but three days later, he was back in action. He was told he was awarded the Purple Heart right when he was hit. War is not like in the movies and there were no John Waynes [Annotator's Note: Marion Robert Morrison, also known as John Wayne; American actor].