Private First Class Adams was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy along the eastern shore of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea on 2 December 1950. He was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Adams was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's 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.