Michael Robert Adams
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army

Michael Robert Adams was born on 23 November 1979 in Wichita, KS, the son of Donald and Barbara Adams. As a third-grader, Michael moved with his family to Fairwood, WA. He showed a flair for leadership as a Boy Scout and by his sophomore year at Kentridge High School in Kent, WA, he was an Eagle Scout before his 16th birthday. As a high school senior, he was named commander of his Junior ROTC unit. Michael graduated from Kentridge High School in 1998.

Michael was nominated to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash. Upon graduation in June 2002, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Armor in the U.S. Army. After completing the Basic Armor Officer Course at Fort Knox, KY, 2LT Adams was assigned to Fort Carson, CO, where he was a tank platoon leader with the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

On 16 March 2004, 1LT Adams was killed in an accident in Al Asad, Iraq, west of Baghdad, while riding in a convoy enroute to Kuwait. He was on his way home. The accident occurred when a passing vehicle struck the tank Adams was riding in, causing the barrel of a mounted .50-caliber machine gun to swing and strike Adams from behind. He was pronounced dead at a combat support hospital. According to his father, the last E-mail they received from Michael said, "Hopefully, the next time you hear from me, it'll be from Kuwait." "It was just a very tragic traffic accident," his father said.

Burial

First Lieutenant Michael Robert Adams is buried at the United States Military Academy Post Cemetery, West Point, NY, in Section XXXVI, Site E-154.