Captain Adams was a navigator of a B-29A Superfortress Bomber with the 93rd Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Wing based at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa. On 31 October 1952, when his aircraft was returning from a mission over Korea and was about 110 miles from Kadena, it developed engine trouble and crashed into the ocean. Eleven crew members were lost. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Captain Adams was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, 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.