Carwood Lipton was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. When he was aged 10, his father was killed and his mother paralyzed in an automobile accident.Alexander 2005, p. 88. Since Carwood was the eldest child, she told him to be the "man of the family". After completing one year at Huntington's Marshall University, he left school due to financial troubles at home and went to work in war-related production.
