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As soon as he could, after a tour of duty as a platoon leader at Fort Campbell, Ky., Carpenter volunteered for duty in Viet Nam. The year was 1963, and there were only 12,000 U.S. troops in that country at the time. An adviser to a South Vietnamese unit, Carpenter saw plenty of action, and came back to the U.S. with the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, a Purple Heart and two wounds inflicted by the Viet Cong.
At the time he had first volunteered for Viet Nam, he explained to his wife that it would be a good idea to get his combat duty over with. Then, after only 22 months at a school in Fort Knox, Bill Carpenter volunteered to serve an other term. "He just felt like he should be there," recalls Toni, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., with their three children. "He liked to be with the troops."
When word of Carpenter's heroism flashed back to the U.S. last week, Bob Anderson, fellow West Point All-America, said casually: "That's the kind of leadership he gave at West Point. What he did in South Viet Nam is something I would almost have expected. I look for him to be Chief of Staff some day." At the White House, Press Secretary Bill Moyers told reporters that Carpenter's valor had impressed the President too. "He finds it an inspiring chapter in the Viet Nam story," said Moyers. Fittingly enough, Bill Carpenter was nominated by his field commander last week for the Medal of Honor.