Forrest Caraway was born on July 18, 1909, in Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas. Like his brother, Paul, Forrest graduated from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in 1931.

From May to November 1933, Forrest served as the assistant commander of a CCC camp near Kato, Pennsylvania. He was the Division Commander, First Infantry 1938, 28th Infantry, in 1943. Forrest served in the XXIII Corps as the deputy chief of staff, ultimately serving in Europe as a member of the Theater General Board. After returning from Europe, Forrest attended the War College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

In 1953, he was sent into combat in Korea, where he served as the Senior Advisor to the II ROK Corps. He died February 24, 1985, in Tucson, Arizona, and is interred in the West Point Cemetery, Section IX, Row C, Grave No. 73.