Corporal Carrillo was a member of Headquarters Company, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on February 12, 1951 and returned to duty on April 12, 1951. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on May 17, 1951. He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.

Through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the remains of Corporal Carmen Carrillo were accounted for in 2023. His name is permanently inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.