Carl L. Late was born in Oklahoma in 1923. He was the youngest of five children of Bert Lee Late (18 Sep 1884 – 10 Sep 1962), who was born in Indian Territory (Nowata County, Oklahoma), and Vivian Gresilda (Garrett) Late (31 Mar 1893 – 21 Dec 1957), who was born at Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas. His parents married in Oklahoma about 1911. His father was an oil pumper and a farmer. By 1930 his parents were divorced, and he lived with his mother at Gore, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. He later moved with his mother to Arcata, Humboldt County, California, his home of record. He completed four years of high school and worked as a lumberman. He was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at San Francisco, California, on January 23, 1943.

He completed Army Air Forces flight engineer and aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as engineer on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Bert R. Zerr. By December 1943 the Zerr crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field near Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Zerr crew was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. The Zerr crew flew B-24H 42-52736 overseas from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived at Lavenham by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

The 487th Bomb Group transitioned from the B-24 'Liberator' to the B-17 'Flying Fortress' heavy bomber in July 1944. On August 5, 1944 T/Sgt Late flew as flight engineer on the crew of Lt Charlton A. Deuschle in the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group.

T/Sgt Late and seven of his crew mates were killed in action on August 5, 1944 when their aircraft, B-17G 43-38007, was shot down by flak on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory at Magdeburg, Germany. The aircraft received direct hits just before bombs away, and exploded within seconds. The fuselage broke apart aft of the ball turret, and part of the right wing came off. Most of the men were either killed instantly, or were ejected from the aircraft without their chutes. The aircraft crashed near Lostau, Germany, about 13 kilometers southwest of Burg, near Magdeburg. Pilot 2/Lt Deuschle and gunner Sgt Robert J. Crooker survived and became prisoners of war. The dead were buried initially at the village cemetery in Lostau (possibly in Alter Friedhof Lostau, the Old Lostau Cemetery).

After the war, T/Sgt Late's remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condorz, Belgium.

B-17G 43-38007 crew:
• Deuschle, Charlton A – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW
• Steffens, Eugene F – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Underwood, Allan B – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Gregory, Jesse E – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Late, Carl L – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Cochran, William J – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Hinkson Jr, Harry M – Sgt – Tail Gunner – KIA
• Deelaney, Grady E – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Haglund, John L – Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Crooker, Robert J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com