Happy 101st Birthday to Stanley T. Adams, an American Hero

This Day in Kansas History

Stanley T. Adams

There are millions of men and women who have served in every branch of our armed forces and of those only a couple thousand have been awarded the country’s highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Every state has its own number of Medal of Honor recipients and Kansas is no different. One of those recipients from Kansas is Stanley T. Adams. Born on May 9, 1922, in DeSoto, Kansas to Charles Henry Adams and Mary Eva Adams (nee Taylor). He graduated from John St. John Memorial High School in 1942 before enlisting in the U.S. Army in Olathe, KS on October 25, 1942. He served in World War II in North Africa and Italy where he was wounded in action. After World War II ended, he served in Japan as part of the Allied Occupation Force. When the Korean War began, he was still stationed in Japan but in July of 1950 he was sent to South Korea as a Sergeant 1st Class with Company A of the 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Division. In late February 1951, the Eighth Army which Adams Unit was apart of launched a counteroffensive against Chinese troops. Company A set up positions south of Seoul near Sesim-ni. On February 3, Adams platoon set up an outpost on a ridge about 200 yards forward of the rest of their Company.

About 11 p.m. that night Chinese and North Korean troops attacked and pushed back the Companies to either side of Company A leaving Adams unit surrounded on three sides. Later in the early morning hours of February 4, Adams platoon was attacked by about 250 enemy soldiers. After 45 minutes of machine gun and mortar fire the platoon withdrew to the main company’s position. Shortly after this Sergeant Adams fixed his bayonet and charged the enemy followed by 13 of his men. Author Edward F. Murphy described the fighting in his book “Korean War Heroes” published in 1992:

“The tenacity of the Chinese and North Korean soldiers forced the men of the Eighth Army to battle them at close quarters reminiscent of the Civil War. The only way to remove the enemy from their hilltop positions was to dig them out. Men like Sergeant Adams knew this and effectively used the almost obsolete bayonet to accomplish their mission.”

After fighting for nearly an hour in hand to hand combat the Chinese retreated leaving over 50 dead behind.

In a ceremony at the White House on July 5, 1951, President Harry S. Truman awarded 28-year-old Master Sergeant Stanley Adams the Congressional Medal of the Honor for his bravery near Sesim-ni, Korea on February 4, 1951. The citation reads:

“M/Sgt. Adams, Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy. At approximately 0100 hours M/Sgt. Adams platoon holding and outpost some 200 yards ahead of his company came under a determined attack by an estimated 250 enemy troops. Intense small arms, machine gun and mortar fire from three sides pressed the platoon back against the main lane of resistance. Observing approximately 150 hostile troops silhouetted against the skyline advancing against the platoon, M/Sgt. Adams leaped to his feet, urged his men to fix bayonets and he, with 13 members of his platoon charged this hostile force with indomitable courage. Within 50 yards of the enemy, M/Sgt. Adams was knocked to the ground when pierced in the leg by an enemy bullet. He jumped to his feet ignoring his wound, continued on to close with the enemy when he was knocked down four times from the concussion of grenades which bounced off his body. Shouting orders, he charged the enemy positions and engaged in hand-to-hand combat where man after man fell before his terrific onslaught with bayonet and rifle butt. After nearly an hour of vicious action M/Sgt. Adams and his comrades routed the fanatical foe, killing over 50 and forcing the remainder to withdraw. Upon receiving orders this his battalion was moving back he provided cover fire while his men withdrew. M/Sgt. Adams’ superb leadership, incredible courage, and consummate devotion to duty so inspired his comrades that the enemy attack was completely thwarted, saving his battalion from possible disaster. His sustained personal bravery and indomitable fighting spirit against overwhelming odds reflect the utmost glory upon himself and uphold the finest traditions of the infantry and the military service.”

Shortly after receiving the Medal of Honor, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. He remained with the Army through the Vietnam War and retired in 1970 as a Lieutenant Colonel. He worked for the Internal Revenue Service as an Administrator in Alaska. He was married three times, the first to Wava J. Ware Adams. They had one son together, Charles Gary Adams born 1947 who would follow in his father’s footsteps serving in the Vietnam War. Charles passed in 2004 at the age of 56.

Wava and Stanley divorced and in 1962 he married Jane Eloise Gilbreath Bowker Adams. They were married until her death in 1979. In 1981 he married his third wife Jean Elizabeth Vanderstoep Adams and together they had one daughter, Joy Adams.

Stanley moved to Bend, Oregon, and there he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. He lived at the Oregon Veterans Home in The Dalles until his death on April 19, 1999, at the age of 76. After his death his wife Jean donated his Medal of Honor to the Oregon Veterans Home where it still hangs to this day in the entry way of the home. When Jean passed away in 2008, she left a sizable donation to the home along with memorabilia which included some photographs of Stanley with his Medal of Honor, his citation, and some family heirlooms. In 2010 Stan and Jean were honored with the naming of a multipurpose building at the Veterans Home the Stan & Jean Adams Veteran’s Community Center.

Stanley is honored on the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial in Overland Park, KS which was dedicated in 2006. He was also one of 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients whose combat valor and civic heroics was enshrined in the National Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.