He entered active military duty through the aviation cadet program in April 1942 and graduated from pilot training with a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces in May 1943.

During the Korean War, from July 1950 to September 1951, Aderholt commanded a Special Air Warfare Detachment of the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron.

During this assignment, he contributed to the pioneering of special air warfare techniques, and was instrumental in developing the Laos airfield complex known as Lima sites.

Aderholt left for the Republic of the Philippines in August 1965 where he was assigned as deputy commander for plans and operations with the 6200th Materiel Wing at Clark Air Base.

While in this assignment, he joined the United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, where he conceived and activated the Joint Personnel Recovery Center in Saigon, and served as chief from July to December 1966.

The efforts of this wing were so successful in slowing infiltration that the enemy reacted by greatly increasing anti-aircraft defenses and committing a large amount of his total assets to keep the trail open.

In four days of intense activity, the transport planes evacuated more than 2,000 Hmong, including General Vang Pao and Jerry Daniels, his CIA case officer.

[6] During the last few years of his life, from 2002 until 2010, Aderholt was directly involved with the Thailand Laos Cambodia Brotherhood as a member of the TLC Assistance Committee working to raise many thousands of dollars of funds and also made several trips back to Northeast Thailand and Laos hands on involved with humanitarian aid.