George Carpenter took flight instruction with Royal Canadian Air Force before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Forces early in 1941, where he washed out. He subsequently joined and flew with the Eagle Squadrons early in the war before he transferred back to the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1942. During World War II, he became a U.S. Army Air Forces DOUBLE ACE, credited with shooting down 13.84 enemy aircraft in aerial combat, before he was shot down himself and captured.