Lucian Adams

Lucian Adams (October 26, 1922 – March 31, 2003) was a United States Army soldier during World War II who received the Medal of Honor for single-handedly destroying three German machine gun emplacements near St. Die, France, thereby reopening critical supply lines to isolated units of his battalion.

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Lucian and Rosa Adams as one of twelve children in a Mexican-American family, he dropped out of high school to support his household and worked in a wartime plant building landing craft before enlisting in the Army in February 1943 at age 20.

After basic training at Camp Butner, North Carolina, Lucian Adams deployed to Europe with the 3rd Infantry Division, participating in the invasions of Italy and southern France.

Lucian Adams first saw combat at Anzio Beach in January 1944, where he neutralized a German machine gun nest, earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart despite being wounded, and his unit continued fighting through the Italian campaign.

Full Name	Lucian Adams
Gender	Male
Occupation	Soldier
Date of Birth	26-October-1922 (80 years)
Birth Year	1922
Birth Location	Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Death Time	31-March-2003
Death Location	San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

In August 1944, during Operation Dragoon, the 3rd Infantry Division landed near St. Tropez on the Riviera and advanced northward into the Vosges Mountains, facing fierce German resistance in the Mortagne Forest by late October.

On October 28, 1944, as a staff sergeant with Company L, 30th Infantry Regiment, his company advanced down a wooded road under heavy fire from three machine gun nests that had cut off two assault companies, killing three Americans and wounding six others in the initial volley.

Seizing a borrowed Browning Automatic Rifle, he charged alone through intense enemy fire, tree to tree, tossing grenades to silence the first gunner at ten yards, shooting a grenadier at the same range, and forcing two infantrymen to surrender before eliminating five more Germans and the remaining machine gunners, personally killing nine foes in under ten minutes and earning his nickname "Tornado from Texas."

Lieutenant General Alexander Patch presented the Medal of Honor to Adams on April 23, 1945, at Nuremberg's Zeppelin Stadium, shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death had delayed the planned White House ceremony.

Discharged in September 1945, he worked over forty years for the Veterans Administration in San Antonio as a benefits counselor until retiring in 1986, advising veterans and Congressman Frank Tejeda on affairs.