Andrew Carter

Technical Sergeant Andrew Carter, aka Little Deer Who Runs Swift And Sure Through Forest, is one of the main secondary fictional characters who appeared in the 1960s sitcom, Hogan's Heroes. He was played by Larry Hovis.

Biography
Technical Sergeant Andrew J. Carter was born on February 7, 1913 (speculation) in Bullfrog, North Dakota, a member of the Sioux Indian nation. Not much is known about his family background, other than that his great-grandfather fought alongside Sitting Bull and that he has a kid brother and a cousin. Carter, as he grew up, became a member of the Boy Scouts, read the novel Robinson Crusoe, learned to play the trumpet and attended Rutherford B. Hayes Polytechnic High School. During his school days, he met his girlfriend, Mary Jane. Also at Rutherford B. Hayes, he at some point accidentally blew up the school's chemistry lab, the cafeteria and the balcony level of the auditorium. After graduating from Rutherford B. Hayes Polytechnic, he went to a very good business school to continue his education. Carter then moved to Muncie, Indiana, where he ran a drug store, planning to later take the state's pharmaceutical exam for his license. He also owns a motorcycle.

World War II
Sometime after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Carter was conscripted into the USAAF (a fact which he constantly bemoans), which puts off until the end of the war both his anticipated marriage to Mary Jane and his taking the pharmaceutical exam. In spite of not doing too well on the obstacle course, Carter finished basic training and, with the rank of Lieutenant, he is assigned to the 182nd Bomber Group. During one of the group's bombing raids over Germany, his bomber is shot down, and he is captured and placed inside a POW camp. Carter soon escapes the camp, and heads for Stalag 13, where he is met in the woods by Sergeant Olsen, whose place he temporarily takes in the camp. While inside the camp, he meets Colonel Hogan and the other members of his anti-Nazi organization, who quickly inform him that they would help him to get back to England. Carter helped the other prisoners outwit the German spy Wagner, who was placed among them to find out about their escape plans,

Carter eventually left camp for England, leaving by way of underground member Oscar Schnitzer's truck. It is never fully explained, but Carter returned to the camp with a reduction in rank, now as a Technical Sergeant. (While never explained within the series itself, in the show's history, the Carter character's return to the camp is because Leonid Kinskey, who played Sergeant Vladimir Minsk in the pilot episode The Informer, refused to sign a contract when the show was picked up by CBS for the 1965-66 television season. Kinskey thought the series took the Nazis too lightly.)

Carter, who at some point receives a Good Conduct Medal, was, because of his expertise in chemistry, put in charge of making bombs, grenades and other explosive materials for Hogan and the other prisoners to use on their missions. He also showed himself to be very good at impersonating German officers on the phone and in person. He bore an almost eerie physical resemblance to Adolf Hitler, which was noted as early as the pilot episode and was used to the Heroes' advantage on two occasions.

Personality-wise, Carter was a kind-hearted, somewhat boisterious and enthusiastic, if naive, individual. He was very committed to his work, being referred to by Colonel Hogan as "one of the great pyromaniacs of our time." He was prone to rather spectacular error due to lack of attention to detail, such as forgetting to put film in cameras used for spying purposes.

He received little respect from Corporals LeBeau and Newkirk, by comparison to that given to his fellow Sergeant, Kinchloe. The pair would often call him by his first name, Andrew, instead of Sergeant, as is required by proper military protocol, and would abuse him generally. Carter was the second-ranking member of the Heroes, senior to Kinchloe, who was generally regarded as the group's second in command. However, in Hogan Goes Hollywood he was shown to be in charge of blowing up a bridge.

During the course of the series, (within its very first year) his girlfriend, Mary Jane, left him for an air-raid warden. For a time he contemplated escaping—eventually receiving Colonel Hogan's permission to do so—before finally deciding not to go.

Post World War II
Nothing is known about what happened to Sergeant Carter at the end of the war, although it is to be assumed that he was, along with the other prisoners at Stalag 13, liberated by the advancing Allied armies. He probably also went to try and get Mary Jane back, who may or may not have by that time been married to the warden she was dating.

Awards
Carter is supposed to have been awarded the following Medals for his actions: the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Good Conduct Medal. As a prisoner of war, Carter would be eligible, as of 1985, to have the Prisoner of War Medal and Commendation Medal awarded retroactively.

Errata
Despite his character being single, Carter was pictured on several occasions during the series run wearing a wedding ring (This is due to the fact that Hovis was married during the duration of the series and refused to take off his ring. This resulted in his left hand rarely being shown. When both hands had to be seen, he wore gloves. There are only a few episodes where the ring can be seen).