DOB/DOD: November 27, 1918 (Waterbury, CT) – March 13, 1945; 27 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Vivian Marie Perrault (1918-1991). She remarried in 1946 to Burton Howe.
CHILDREN: One son, Roger (1938-), and one daughter, Lorelee Carlson Shanley (1939-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: 22 Olive Street, Hartford. Houses on Olive Street were razed for Interstate 84.
ENLISTMENT: June 23, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut.
SERVICE NUMBER: 987700
UNIT: Company F, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0521, Basic Marine
FAMILY: Born to Oscar (1894-1959) and Elna Adolfson Carlson (1896-1983). They were both born in Sweden. Oldest of two children. One sister, Dorothy (1927-1998). 1, 2 Francis worked at the Hanson–Whitney Machine Company in Hartford prior to the service. 3
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp was at Parris Island, South Carolina. Infantry training followed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. 5 Suffered a gunshot wound to the head on March 4, 1945, and died of that wound on March 13, 1945. 4 Private Carlson was in the Marine Corps for 10 ½ months. Private Carlson and PFC Steve Richick of Hartford were in the same company. They died 16 days apart.
From The Hartford Courant on May 9, 1945
Private Francis O. Carlson, 27, died recently of wounds received in action on Iwo Jima, the only campaign in which he had participated, according to word received from the War Department by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar F. Carlson, 76 Sisson Avenue. A graduate of New Park Avenue School, Private Carlson attended Hartford Public High School and was employed by the Hanson Whitney Machine Company before entering the Marine Corps in June 1944. He was sent overseas in November 1944 and served with the Fourth Marine Division. He leaves, besides his parents, his wife, Mrs. Vivian Perrault Carlson; a son, Roger; a daughter, Lorelee; and a sister, Dorothy E. Carlson, all of Hartford.
Initially buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Plot 1, Row 33, Grave 1606. At his mother’s request, his remains were repatriated and buried on April 8, 1948, in Long Island National Cemetery, 2040 Wellwood Avenue, East Farmingdale, New York; Section H, Plot 9106. 4Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
1 – 1930 census https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/
2 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
3 – https://www.ancestry.com/cs/military/wwii-draft-card-collection
4 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
5 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/