Adams was born on October 26, 1922, in Port Arthur, Texas, as one of twelve children (nine brothers and three sisters) in a large Mexican-American family.

[1][2] He attended Port Arthur High School and enlisted in the Army in February 1943,[3] after spending two years in a wartime plant making landing craft — just like the ones that would carry him to the shores of Italy and then France in the U.S. invasion of Europe.

Carrying a borrowed Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), Adams began walking with his men down the road, which was heavily wooded on both sides.

Since he had heard the same thing at Anzio, Italy 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.

Despite intense machinegun fire which the enemy directed at him and rifle grenades which struck the trees over his head showering him with broken twigs and branches, S/Sgt.

Charging into the vortex of the enemy fire, he killed another machinegunner at 15 yards range with a hand grenade and forced the surrender of 2 supporting infantrymen.

Although the remainder of the German group concentrated the full force of its automatic weapons fire in a desperate effort to knock him out, he proceeded through the woods to find and exterminate 5 more of the enemy.

In the course of the action, he personally killed 9 Germans, eliminated 3 enemy machineguns, vanquished a specialized force which was armed with automatic weapons and grenade launchers, cleared the woods of hostile elements, and reopened the severed supply lines to the assault companies of his battalion.He was awarded the Medal of Honor on March 29, 1945.