Lucian Adams - Service

Service

In the summer of 1944, the 3rd Infantry Division landed near Saint – Tropez and began advancing into central France. By late October, Sergeant Adam's company was near the town of Saint-Die in the Mortagne forest, moving down a country road to open a supply line to two assault companies of his battalion that were cut off by the Germans.When stopped by heavy enemy fire, Adams, was sent forward to scout the German position and reported three enemy machine-gun nests to his company commander. He was then told "You go on out there and make a breakthrough to get those GIs".

Carrying a borrowed Browning Automatic Rifle, Adams began walking with his men down the road which was heavily wooded on both sides. They had advanced just ten yards before the German machine guns opened fire, killing three men immediately and wounding six others. The rest of the men except Adams took cover. Adams pressed forward moving from tree to tree straight through enemy fire to kill the first gunner with a grenade. When another German popped up from a foxhole a few yards away, Adams killed him with fire from the BAR. Charging into the fire of the second machine gun, he killed its gunner with another grenade and forced its two supporting infantrymen to surrender. He then ran deeper into the woods; killing five more Germans. He then began taking fire from the third machine gunner who missed his mark; Adams didn't. He killed the gunner, and by the time Adams finished his one man rampage, he had cleared the woods of enemy soldiers. Adams' men began calling him the Tornado from Texas.

After the action Adams was told by messenger that he was recommended for the Medal of Honor. Since he had heard the same thing at Anzio when he single handedly destroyed a German machine gun position, he didn't pay too much attention and continued on with his unit fighting their way into Germany. In the spring of 1945 he received orders to go home to be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Before he left however, President Roosevelt died. Adams received the medal from Lieutenant General Alexander Patch on April 23, 1945 in Nuremberg's Zeppelin Stadium. An American flag was draped over a huge swastika on the top of the stadium. After the ceremony American engineers removed the flag and blew up the swastika. After serving in the European Theatre during World War II, he returned to Texas where he worked for the Veterans Administration for over 40 years before retiring in 1986. He died on March 31, 2003, in San Antonio, Texas, and is buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.