Rear Admiral Charles L. Carpenter (July 31, 1902 – February 21, 1992) was a Naval officer, holder of the Navy Cross, Purple Heart and whose career encompassed combat action in Nicaragua. He was involved in all three Theaters of Operations in World War II and naval combat in the Pacific. He commanded attack transports during the war and commanded an animal research vessel in the post-World War II era Operation Crossroads series of atomic bomb tests. He earned nine Service Bars, the U.S. Navy Combat Command Insignia, and foreign decorations from the governments of Nicaragua, Peru, and Spain. Of his 30 years of active military service, 22 years were spent at sea or on foreign shores serving his Country.