Paul E. Carlson (March 31, 1928 – November 24, 1964) was an American physician and medical missionary who served in Wasolo, a town in what is now the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. He originated from Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Southern California, which is a member of the

Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is an evangelical denomination with Pietism, Pietist Lutheran roots. The Christian denomination, denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people in th ...

denomination. He was killed in 1964 by rebel insurgents after being falsely accused of being an American spy.

Biography

Carlson was born in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, the son of Swedish immigrant Gustav Carlson, a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

, and his wife Ruth. He graduated from

North Park University North Park University is a private Christian university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is located on Chicago's north side in the North Park community area and enrolls more than 2,600 undergr ...

in 1948, and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in 1951, and finished medical school at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1956. After finishing medical school, he completed five years of internship and then surgery residency in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

, during which time he met and married nurse Lois Lindblom of

Menominee, Michigan Menominee ( ) is a city and the county seat of Menominee County, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The population was 8,488 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Menominee County, Mi ...

.Dr. Carlson: Rebel With Noble Cause
Milwaukee Sentinel, Aug 28, 1965, James H. Johnston In 1961, Carlson decided to serve as a missionary doctor. He arrived in Congo and began working as a medical missionary for six months in

Ubangi Province Ubangi Province (1962−1966) was a former province in the north of Zaire, formed from a division of the first Équateur Province. It was then reincorporated into Équateur Province in 1966. After the 2015 reorganisation of its provinces, what u ...

. In December 1961 he returned to Redondo Beach but continued to talk of returning to the Congo because of its great needs. In July 1963, along with his wife, son Wayne, and daughter Lynette, he returned to the Ubangi region of the African nation known at the time as the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. Activities included working in the eighty-bed hospital and

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...

colony. During this time, Carlson acquired the nickname ''Monganga Paul'' (Monganga meaning "doctor" in the Lingala tongue). This work continued until the political unrest of the time reached them. In August 1964, rebels captured Stanleyville, now

Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...

, and the Carlson family crossed the Ubangi river to seek refuge in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. Carlson, however, remained committed to his hospital and work in Wasolo, and he returned. This final return placed him in the middle of the political unrest of the time, and he soon fell into the hands of the communist-inspired Congolese rebels of the Simba Rebellion. His home was looted, the hospital and other buildings were damaged and two of his staff members were shot. Under the unstable leadership of

Christophe Gbenye Christophe Gbenye ( 1927 – 3 February 2015) was a Congolese politician, trade unionist, and rebel who, along with Gaston Soumialot, led the Simba rebellion, an anti-government insurrection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the C ...

, the rebels accused Carlson of being an American spy and took him as a hostage to Stanleyville. Carlson was held there and was mentally and physically tortured. In November 1964, Gbenye announced he would execute Carlson, prompting the U.S. government to begin negotiations for his release. In Stanleyville, Carlson joined the American consul as a captive of the rebels. Upon a breakdown in negotiations, paratroopers were flown in and the rebels panicked. On November 24, 1964, some Simbas soldiers opened fire into a crowd, and Carlson and several others ran to a wall in hopes of escaping. Before Carlson scaled the wall, he urged a clergyman to go first, and as he was climbing the wall after the clergyman, he was shot and killed by rebel gun fire.

Legacy

Carlson became known as the "Congo Martyr" and was featured on the covers of both ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazines. His tombstone, at Karawa, bears the inscription "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."— John 15:13 Shortly after Carlson's death, Lois and others formed the Paul Carlson Medical Program with the goal of raising money to support the Loko hospital. They expanded with agricultural programs to teach nutrition, agronomy, and microenterprise. In 2000, the Paul Carlson Medical Program was revitalized and now operates under the name the Paul Carlson Partnership. The Paul Carlson Partnership is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization with a mission that focuses on investing in health care, economic development, and education in Central Africa. After her husband's death, wife Lois penned the biography "Monganga Paul" in 1965. Carlson Park within the neighborhood of

Carlson Park, Culver City, California Dr. Paul Carlson Park, or, more commonly, Carlson Park, is a small park located in the Carlson Park neighborhood of Culver City, California. It is linear in shape and intended for passive recreational use, featuring open grassy spaces as well as pi ...

are both named in honor of him. (''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' television episode entitled "

You Drive "You Drive" is episode 134 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on January 3, 1964, on CBS. In this episode, the perpetrator of a fatal hit-and-run is hounded by the car he committed the crime w ...

" was filmed in this neighborhood one year before Carlson's death.) His home church, Rolling Hills Covenant Church also named a portion of the building, "Carlson Hall" in his name. The Evangelical Covenant Church has produced a documentary entitled "Monganga"

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Dr. Paul Carlson, ''Life'' (magazine cover), December 4, 1964.

Dr. Paul Carlson, ''Time'' (magazine cover), December 4, 1964.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Paul 1928 births 1964 deaths 20th-century evangelicals 20th-century Protestant martyrs People from Culver City, California American people of Swedish descent American leprologists Protestant missionaries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences alumni American evangelicals American people murdered abroad People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Deaths by firearm in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Evangelical missionaries Christian medical missionaries American expatriates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo People of the Congo Crisis People murdered in 1964 North Park University alumni Stanford University alumni