Carleton was born in Middletown, Connecticut. He moved to Washington, DC, in the 1930s, where he married Geraldine Sechrist in 1935 and they raised their two daughters in Maryland. He was a professional photographer. After he retired from the Pentagon, he and Gerry moved to North Port, Florida, where he died. He was a member of the Sertoma Club, DeMolay in his youth, and later a Mason, a Shriner, and a member of Alpha Tau Omega at the University of New Hampshire.