Randall Arthur "Randy" Carlson was born in Trumbull, Connecticut. After graduation from the United States Military Academy his first assignment was as a platoon leader in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in spring 1971 in Bayreuth, Germany. In 1973, he joined the Military Intelligence Corps. He returned to the United States for the Officer Advanced Course and was then assigned as an analyst at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. He was one of the first analysts to examine Soviet T-64 tanks and BMP Infantry fighting vehicles captured by Israel. He also earned a Master’s in International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University. He returned to the United States Military Academy to teach French at the Academy. He had studied for two years in Paris and researched the French Resistance. He graduated with a second Master’s degree from Middlebury University and became an Assistant Professor in his second year. His next assignment was with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, Occupied Territories (Palestine). On September 25, 1982, he was preparing to depart on a leave to Egypt when his supervisor asked him to take a surveillance mission for another officer. He volunteered and was killed with three other United Nations officers when their vehicle ran over a mine.

He is now buried in the United States Military Academy Post Cemetery, West Point, Orange County, New York, USA.

Source of information: United States Military Academy Association of Graduates memorial, www.findagrave.com