Corporal Adams was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy along the Kum River in South Korea on 16 July 1950.

Adams was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, 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.