Is the bearing of arms a Carpenter tradition? I myself served In the US Army for two years in the Vietnam War and hated every minute of it. Looking back on my Carpenter line, a distant uncle was a captain of artillery with George Washington in the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. He was killed in battle. Benajah Carpenter was certainly a Carpenter hero. Other than him, few of my Carpenters fought in any war subsequent to that. My own father skipped WW ll. I think a good reading of Amos Carpenters Rehoboth History will lead you to the conclusion that Carpenters were lovers not fighters. As for the English Carpenters, they were merchants, not knights. I thought I proved that already. Sincerely, Professor B. Carpenter