Above & Beyond the Call of Duty: The True Story of WWII Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams
Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams with his military medals (courtesy of Congressional Medal of Honor Society).
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 enemy machine gun emplacements to re-establish supply lines to U.S. Army companies. He also received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his heroic actions in Italy.
Information above provided by Wikipedia.
During the Second World War, up to 500,000 Hispanic Americans (including 350,000 Mexican Americans and 53,000 Puerto Ricans) served in the U.S. military. Figuring out the exact numbers is not easy, since Hispanics were not segregated into separate units, as African Americans were. The exception to this rule is the 65th Infantry Regiment from Puerto Rico, the U.S. military's only all-Hispanic unit. There were also cases where a Hispanic male might have an American sounding last name, maybe his father changed his Hispanic surname when he arrived in the United States in order to find work and avoid discrimination. This was a common practice among immigrants in the early 1900s who came to the United States and wanted to fit in, they would Americanize their last name.
On December 8, 1941 at 12:30 PM ET, the United States Congress declared war on the Empire of Japan in response to its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the previous day. Thousands of Hispanics were among those that rushed to enlist and serve their country. Hispanics served with distinction throughout Europe, in the Pacific Theater, North Africa, the Aleutians (A LOU TIONS) and the Mediterranean. While Hispanics actively participated in World War II overseas, thousands of Hispanic men and women back home in the United States worked on railroads, in mines, shipyard and airplane factories and as crucial agricultural labor. A national agricultural labor shortage jeopardized the war effort, so the US government established the Bracero Program, which permitted millions of Mexican men to work legally in the United States on short-term labor contracts. These agreements with Mexico not only addressed the national labor shortage during WWII but they were also meant to make right the previous Depression-Era deportations that unjustly targeted Mexican Americans who were U.S. citizens.
Among other honors earned, seventeen Medals of Honor were awarded to Hispanics for service during the Second World War. One Mexican American who not only had an Americanized last name but also received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in France was a young man named Lucian Adams. At the age of twenty-two, Lucian received the United States’ highest military award for valor. Imagine that, twenty-two years old. Think about what you were doing when you were twenty-two and now think about what twenty-two year olds are up to in this day and age. While Lucian was off killing Germans, protecting our freedom and the freedom of future generations of Americans, twenty-two year olds today are busy making historically inaccurate videos on TikTok. My, how the times have changed. But enough about TikTok, let's move on and learn more about a true American hero.
Lucian Adams's story, hidden history that has remained long forgotten, is the story of a Hispanic American who went above and beyond the call of duty for the country he loved during the most destructive global conflict in human history.
For the rest of Lucian's story, please check out the audio link provided for EPISODE TWENTY-NINE of our podcast, Hidden History: An Odyssey Through Time
LISTEN NOW: Above & Beyond the Call of Duty: The True Story of WWII Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams
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Images and Documents
Lucian Adams and his family in the 1930 U.S. census (courtesy of familysearch.org).
Lucian Adams and his family in the 1940 U.S. census (courtesy of familysearch.org).
Lucian Adams's registration card for the military (courtesy of familysearch.org).
Staff Sgt. Lucian Adams receives the Medal of Honor from Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch, April 1945 (courtesy of Texas State Historical Association).
3rd Infantry Division Soldiers receive Medals of Honor at the newly secured Zepplinfeld Stadium in Nuremberg, Germany, April 23, 1945. Left to right: Lt. Col. Keith L. Ware, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment; 1st Lt. John J. Tominac, Company I, 15th Inf. Regt.; Tech. Sgt. Russell Dunham, Company I, 30th Infantry Regiment; Staff Sgt. Lucian Adams, Co. I, 30th Inf. Regt. and Pvt. Wilburn K. Ross, Company G, 30th Inf. Regt. (courtesy of U.S. National Archives).
Lucian Adams (right) with fellow Medal of Honor recipient Russell Dunham (courtesy of Texas State Historical Association).
Lucian and a friend, Art Schmidt, sometime during World War II (courtesy of Hans Schmidt Family Association).
Newspaper article about Lucian receiving the Medal of Honor in Germany, Chicago Daily Tribune, April 23, 1945.
Newspaper article about Lucian receiving the Medal of Honor, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., April 23, 1945.
On March 3, 1956, Lucian Adams married Linda Cassias Wong in Guadalupe County, Texas, and their first child Rosa was born four months later in July. The couple would go on to have two more children, Grace and Lucian Jr., born in 1957 and 1962 respectively. By 1971, Lucian and Linda were divorced (courtesy of familysearch.org).
Lucian Adams working for the Veterans Administration, c. December 1966 (courtesy of Boston Public Library).
President & Mrs. Carter met 6 Hispanic Medal of Honor winners - Mr. Rodolfo Hernandez, Mr. Alejandro Ruiz, Mr. Cleto Rodriguez, Mr. Louis Rocco, Mr. Lucian Adams, Mr. Joseph C. Rodriguez - before the Third Annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus Dinner, September 18, 1980 (courtesy of Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum).
Lucian Adams, left, and Jose Mendoza Lopez , Medal of Honor recipients, 1991.
The guests of honor attending a World War II commemorative parade sit under the reviewing stand. They are, from left to right, Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Ashy, commander, Air Training Command; retired Brig. Gen. Robert McKermott; Medal of Honor recipients Jose Lopez & Lucian Adams and Maj. Gen. David Reed, commander, Lackland Training Center, Texas, January 24, 1992 (courtesy of U.S. National Archives).
Brig. Gen Robert J. Courter Jr. 37th Training Wing Commander & retired Army Staff Sgt. Lucian Adams, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, review Lackland Air Force Base parade commemorating the 50th anniversary of V-J day, Texas, September 1, 1995 (courtesy of U.S. National Archives).
Medal of Honor recipient Lucian Adams later in life.
Lucian Adams wearing his Medal of Honor during video interview with Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, 2001. All audio clips of Lucian in this episode were taken from this video interview (courtesy of Library of Congress).
Lucian's Medal of Honor & certificate (courtesy of Library of Congress).
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Wow john that was great all the work and research you did, Lucian was great a hell of a fighter,he was a Hero , loved his story.