Alfred Duane Carlson "Duane" was born in Irving, KS and lived with his family on a farm. He attended Irving Schools and graduated High School with the class of 1942. He was drafted into the Army, at Fort Leavenworth, KS, on June 14, 1943. Carlson took training in several bases throughout the United States. He was stationed in Saipan and served with the 398th Bomb Group. Their objective was to bomb Japan. Carlson's job was to load bombs onto B-29s, and clean and reload the guns on the plane. His plane was the Joltin' Josie until it crashed. Then he worked with the B-29 named Lucky 11. Carlson returned home and used the GI bill to go to college and earned a Business degree. He was called back to serve for a year during the Korean conflict and then settled with a family in Valley Center, KS. He married and had two children.