David Howard Carlton

Lieutenant Colonel David H. Carlton, Retired United States Army, 57, passed away on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Madison, Ala., following a nine-year battle with cancer.  He was born in 1960 in Waco, Texas.

David earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree from the University of Alabama. He served in the U.S. Army for 23 years before retiring and moving to Madison, Ala., in 2006.  He then started a new career working for Tetra Tech and then KAYA Associates, Inc.

David was the “Soldier of the Year” in 1984 of the 101^st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. He was later commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1985 at Fort Benning, Ga., where he also went through Ranger School and received his Ranger Tab in 1990. In 2001, while in Heidelberg, Germany, David was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 2004, he assumed command of the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in Portland, Ore. where he remained until his retirement in 2006.

He loved God, his family, his country, and his dog, Maggie.  Other passions included golf, college football, and listening to music. 

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Rachel; children, Lauren, Matthew, and Elizabeth; his sister Lynn (Bill); his brother Joe (Karen); and his mother, Frances Carlton.  He is preceded in death by his father,        Lieutenant Colonel Howard F. Carlton, Retired United States Air Force.

His memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. CT with a visitation starting at 11:30 a.m. CT at Legacy Chapel on Hughes Road in Madison, Ala. A private inurnment service will be held at the Chattanooga National Cemetery on Monday, April 9.

Flowers may be sent to the Legacy Chapel. Donations may be made to the Army Emergency Relief or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.