Evans Carlson was born on February 26, 1896, in Sidney, New York. By lying about his age, he was able to enlist in the U.S. Army at age 16 on November 6, 1912. He left active duty and entered the U.S. Army Reserve on November 1, 1915, and returned to active duty in the Army on July 16, 1916. He served on Mexican Border Service Duty before receiving his commission as a 2d Lieutenant in the U.S. Army on June 13, 1917. Lt Carlson served in combat in France during World War I in 1918, and then served on Occupation Duty in Germany before returning to the United States in 1919. He left active duty on October 28, 1919, and then served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1920 until he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on April 29, 1922. Carlson was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on January 11, 1923, and then served with the 66th Company, Marine Barracks Quantico, Virginia, from January 1923 to May 1924. During this time he attended the Basic Course at Quantico from March to June 1923. His next assignment was with Marine Barracks San Diego, California, from May to June 1924, followed by service aboard the battleship USS Nevada (BB-36) from July to December 1924. He was assigned to Marine Barracks Quantico from December 1924 to February 1925, and he then attended flight school at NAS Pensacola, Florida, from February to June 1925. He did not complete the program, and then served with Marine Barracks Hampton Roads, Virginia, from July to December 1925. Lt Carlson served with Marine Corps Barracks San Diego from February 1926 to March 1927, and then deployed to China with the 3rd Marine Brigade from March 1927 to September 1929. He returned to the United States in November 1929, and then served with Marine Barracks Quantico from December 1929 to January 1930. His next assignment was with Marine Barracks at the Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, from January to April 1930, followed by service during the Second Nicaraguan Campaign with the Nicaraguan National Guard Detachment from May 1930 to May 1931. He served with the Marine Barracks at the Navy Yard in New York City from May to July 1931, and then with the Marine Detachment aboard the Receiving Ship in Boston, Massachusetts, from August to October 1931. Lt Carlson then returned to Nicaragua and served with the Nicaraguan National Guard Detachment during the latter part of the Second Nicaraguan Campaign from November 1931 to January 1933. He returned to the United States in January 1933, and deployed to the Department of the Pacific in February 1933. Capt Carlson deployed with the 4th Marine Regiment to China in March 1933, and then joined the Marine Detachment with the American Legation in Peking, China, from August 1933 to August 1935. His next assignment was as Aide de Camp to the Commanding Officer of the Marine Detachment at Warm Springs, Georgia, from October 1935 to March 1936, followed by service as Aide de Camp to the Commanding Officer of the Marine Detachment with the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas, Texas, from March to June 1936. Capt Carlson attended the Junior Course at Camp Manassas, Virginia, from July 1936 to May 1937, and then served as a Military Attaché while attending Chinese Language School while attached to the Marine Detachment at the American Embassy in Peking, China, from August 1937 to November 1938. He returned to the United States in December 1938, and then served as Assistant Public Relations Officer at Marine Corps Base San Diego, California, from December 1938 until he resigned his commission in the Marine Corps on April 30, 1939. He was appointed a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve on April 21, 1941, and went on active duty beginning May 15, 1941. His next assignment was as a Staff Officer with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division at Marine Corps Base San Diego, California, from May to November 1941, followed by service as a Staff Officer with Headquarters Company, 2nd Joint Training Force at MCB San Diego from November 1941 to February 1942. Lt Col Carlson served as Commanding Officer of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion at MCB San Diego from February to May 1942, and then deployed to Camp Catlin, Hawaii, from May to August 1942. He deployed with his unit for combat during the Makin Island Raid in August 1942 from the submarine USS Nautilus (SS-168), and then returned to Camp Catlin in Hawaii. Lt Col Carlson deployed with his unit to Espiritu Santo Island in September 1942, and then participated in combat at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands from November to December 1942. He returned with his unit to Espiritu Santo in December 1942, and returned to the United States in May 1943. Lt Col Carlson was treated at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego from May to July 1943, and then served with Headquarters and Service Company of the 23rd Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton, California, from July to August 1943. He joined the newly-formed 4th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in August 1943, and deployed with the Division to Hawaii in January 1944. During this time he participated in combat while assigned as an Observer with the 5th Amphibious Corps at Tarawa Atoll in November 1943. Lt Col Carlson again served on temporary duty with the 5th Amphibious Corps from January to June 1944, and participated in combat at Roi and Namur in the Marshall Islands in February 1944, and at Saipan in June 1944, where he was wounded in action. He was evacuated back to the United States in late June 1944, and was treated at the Naval Hospital at San Diego from July to December 1944, and again from January to March 1945. Col Carlson joined Fleet Marine Force Pacific in Hawaii in March 1945, and served as a Planning Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff from March to June 1945. He was again treated at the Naval Hospital in San Diego from June to December 1945, and was on Convalescent Leave from December 1945 until he retired from the Marine Corps as a Brigadier General on July 1, 1946. Brig Gen Carlson died on May 27, 1947, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 4, 1947.

His 3rd Navy Cross Citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy in the British Solomon Islands. From early November to early December, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Carlson, as leader of a marine combat unit, led his men in hunting out the enemy in most difficult tropical country. In the face of enemy opposition and heavy tropical growth, Lieutenant Colonel Carlson was ever aggressive, directing and leading his men in such a commendable manner that they overcame their opposition and successfully completed their mission with small losses to themselves while taking a heavy toll on the enemy.