Technical Sergeant Carnes was a member of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on 31 July 1952. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Carnes was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.