US AIRBORNE

Many thank you to Herb Adams for accepting to answer my questions, And especially a big thank you to Christian de Marcken for having spent time with Herbert and his wife and for recording this interview.

Herbert H Adams was born October 12, 1923 in Waterville, Maine. His Canadian-born father immigrated to the United States with his 5 brothers, his wife and first son to work as a logger in Maine. His parents lived in Lewiston, Maine. As Lewiston is quite far from Waterville, Herbert supposes his parents were going to Canada when his mother gave birth. They had to stop at Waterville. The family has 6 children, 3 girls, one died in infancy and 3 boys. Herbert was only 5 years old when two dramas affected his life. His father was killed in an accident and his mother will also lost her life shortly after giving birth to the youngest son of the family. Herbert was then adopted by an uncle whose job was to build barns in Maine. Herb's grandparents were cabinetmakers. So naturally Herb goes after high school to work in a sawmill. Already during his studies Herbert Adams liked to work in the woodworking shop, on the other hand he hated music classes, the music teacher asked Herbert to make cabinets so students could hang their coats and put their books. The professor knew very well that Herb would lose his time in music classes. He gave gave a passing grade at the end of the year for music lessons and the teacher responsible for the workshop would give him the appropriate grade for the work done in that class. Herb manufactured cabinets for the whole school. He graduated in June 1942. After the mill, he worked in South Portland ship yard. When he entered the Naval shipyard, Herb did not realize that this business was exempting him from military service. When the declaration of war was announced, like many young American, Herbert volunteered to serve his country. He went to the recruiting office in Portland. Where he was not accepted. Meanwhile, one of his latest achievement in wood was a B-17 Flying Fortress he carved out from a piece of wood. He tried again to volunteer for the Service, but without success. In September 1942, he married Beverly, who was raised on a farm. Shortly after, Herb attempted to again volunteer, this time in the air force ... but always without success. At Christmas 1942, he went to another recruiting office. The recruiter asked Herb "Where do you work? »Herb found he was not lying when he said:" I am not working! After all, he was standing before the recruiter and therefore was not working. He was sent to a Coastal Artillery Barrage Balloon Battalion at Camp Tyson, near Paris, Tenn., he hated that assignment it was boring. On several occasions he requested a transfer to aviation unit, but each time without success. One day at Camp Tyson, he was given the task to keep 8 African-American prisoners. One of them was a large powerful man, having been in the army he knew that the guards received only 3 shells for their guns. Herbert Adams was to keep the 8 prisoners who were to perform work on the outskirts of the camp. While Herb was on edge, he picked up additional ammunition, which he always carried with him. At this time, the leader of the group of 8 black said to Herb : "Be reasonable, you only have three bullets and they are eight of us, let us slip away" Herb fired two warning shots over their heads and a third on a sign post, then he showed the prisoners that he still had ammunition. It quickly calmed the eight prisoners, who asked to Herb not to report the incident. Herb felt he did not need to go to the Post investigation Office, therefore, he said nothing. Two weeks later, in late July or early August, Herbert Adams was on duty at one of the entrances to Camp Tyson, it was about 9:00pm, he saw the headlights of two jeeps traveling side by side, Herb ordered the jeeps to stop and asked to see their " Trip tickets", the two drivers were Lieutenants, drunk as skunks. A jeep tried to leave, and Herb fired his rifle and the bullet pierced the windshield of the jeep, the lieutenant applied the brakes suddenly. However, a shot was fired and an officer of the guard arrived accompanied by a replacement for Herb. He was told to report to the orderly room the next day at 8:00am, Herbert Adams expected to receive the order to prepare a report on the incident of the evening. To his amazement, he was told to gather all his gear and be ready to be shipped within twenty minutes. Obviously, the commander did not want the Court Martial his two lieutenants, so he simply accepted the request of Herbert being transferred to an airborne division. After twenty minutes, he left to Fort Benning, Georgia. Normally volunteers for the airborne forces, who had not reached their 21st birthday, were to have the consent of their parents to be admitted to the airborne units. Herbert Adams was married, therefore it require the signature of his wife. And that, of course, he knew that Beverly would never agree. Then he forged her signature. From that moment, he participated in the training of infantry troops the most intense that you could imagine. Herbert Adams joined the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. During the combat training exercises, Herbert remembers that some young soldiers were often injured and some fainted, these soldiers were placed on the side until they came through, when they opened their eyes, they were returned to the training session, where they had to defend themselves. Then Herbert remembers is the obstacle course and finally the jump school. In December, he finished his 5 training jumps. At the last jump, he injured his foot, he did not reported the incident because he knew he was to receive a one week leave to go to Norridgewock, Maine. Where wife is would be waiting at 8 km south-west of Skowhegan.

Herb Adams during the training period.

Upon returning to Fort Benning, Georgia, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was sent to Newport News in Virginia, where it boarded a ship heading for Casablanca, Africa. The paratroopers arrived in a heat of 40 degrees centigrade and they had to hike over 8km before reaching a tent encampment. Herbert remembers the first order received: "Go to the supply tent to receive two blankets and an overcoat." Most men believed that this order was ridiculous, and had been issued by army desk jockey. Nevertheless Herb decided to obey, he came back with four blankets and two coats to be able to share with his friend, some of his buddies laughed at him. But that first night, the soldiers who were on guard quickly realized that in this region, the temperature went down to well below freezing at night. At two o'clock in the morning, buckets filled with water in case of fire were covered with ice. The next morning, there was a long queue at the door of the supply tent to receive blankets and coats. From Africa, Herb was sent as "replacement" to Italy. He landed on an airfield near Naples in Italy. Unfortunately, he was separated from his buddy, when they were moved from Naples, Italy by LST (Landing Ship Tank) to the beachhead at Anzio. His friend was assigned to the 509th PIR, while Herb returned to the 504th PIR, where he joined Company D as a machine gunner in the 3rd platoon. Herbert recalls that he arrived on the beach of Anzio in the last days of February or early March 1944.

Cette photo fut prise quelques jours après la bataille d'Anzio.

After the Battle of Anzio, the 82nd Airborne Division boarded a British carrier and sent to England. Herb lived in Leicester, England. There he trained as a Pathfinder, it meant that regularly and always at night, 2 Paratroopers boarded a C-47 flew for twenty minutes to over an hour. The men do not know where they were going to jump. The first man jumped and the second was instructed to chump exactly 19 seconds later. It took it exactly 19 seconds to empty a C-47 of its full load of paratroopers. The purpose of these exercises was to measure the distance between the two paratroopers in reaching the ground. The weather and wind had a significant impact on the outcome.
Herb explained that one night he experienced the worse landing situation, he found himself between the high voltage cables of a power line.

He explained:
"I'm hunched over, putting my arm around my face and I tried to make myself as small as possible so as not to touch power lines. »
The two paratroopers were always welcomed by British civilians, usually armed with old hunting rifles or pitchforks. Local farmers still kept an eye on the sky, they feared that the Germans would drop paratrooper in the remote parts of the country.

On September 17, 1944, Herbert Adams' unit dropped near the Grave Bridge on the Maas River, also called Meuse River in Belgium. This bridge is located between the cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, Holland. It was 1:00pm. A sunny afternoon, the anti-aircraft guns and German soldiers shot at them, and yet, Herb said:
"I do not understand why my mind was concentrated on a single fact, I never thought about being hit or killed, I was only concerned that a German shell would set fire to my parachute. "
Company "D" landed on one side of the bridge, while the Company "E" landed on the other side. The second day, "D" Company received orders to send patrols on the banks of the Maas River, while another company was instructed to cross the river with small boats. At one point a colonel came and ordered us to board the boat, we tried to explain that we were not part of his unit, but nothing to do, we boarded a boat. We went to fight against the Germans on the other side of the River. It took 3 days before we were allowed to return to our “D” Company."

Herb had lived all his life in Maine, where he learned to hunt groundhogs and crows, so he was skilled in the upkeep of hunting weapons. During his training as a paratrooper, he obtained a high performance rifle, which had a very low serial number, indicating that the rifle had been manufactured in very small quantities and probably had served as a prototype the assembly line. Indeed, this weapon was far superior, it enabled him to put all his bullets in the center of targets, even over long distances.
Even so Herbert was assigned a machine gun, therefore it was not supposed to carry a rifle, and he had this extraordinary weapon with him when he jumped over Holland. One day, during the fighting, he saw a comrade struggling with a rusty old rifle, Herbert gave his excellent weapon to his fellow paratrooper.

At this time of our interview Herbert Adams interjected and made the following comments:
"It's funny that we were dropped 57 miles behind enemy lines in Holland and that we fought for 57 days before returning to our lines. We then were sent to Camp Sisson near Reims, France. The camp consisted of 3 old French army barracks on 50 acres, which served as a German prison and torture camp during the Second World War when the Underground, and a member of the French Resistance ( FFI) were held by the Germans. We arrived at Sisson November 14, 1944 and left in the wee hours Dec. 18, 1944 for Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge. "

When the alarm was given, all the paratroopers were ordered to take their clothes and go to the supply room to pick up their weapons. Many men discovered that their weapons had been sent for repair and no additional weapon was available. Normally the 82nd Airborne was being sent to the Pacific theater to attack Japanese territory, most of winter clothes had already been turned in, so the men had no winter uniforms. Herbert Adams left Sisson with his dress uniform under his jump suit. At 7:00 AM on December 18, 1944 the men boarded semi-trailers, which had no cover. They were sent to Belgium, originally to take a stand at Bastogne, as the 82nd Airborne Division arrived first in the Bastogne area, it was redirected to Werbomont Belgium. While the 101st Airborne Division, which followed the same route, was assigned the task of defending Bastogne. Thirteen hours later the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Werbomont. That night a defensive perimeter was set up around this small town, while the "D" Company traveled 13 km up to Rahier, Belgium

The Battle of Cheneux was exceptionally difficult, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were confronted with a mission to destroy columns of German Panzers commanded by SS Colonel Joachim Pieper. Herb remembers that his unit was in position in a wooded area along a steep slope, the paratroopers were looking down at a road to be used by a German armored column: when suddenly the paratroopers were ordered to take hand grenades and "Composition C-2", which was in the form of a rectangular block 3 centimeters wide by 20 centimeters long, it had a pin and a lead pipe sticking out of what looked like a sock, this pin was the detonator. The U.S. soldier had to be close to the German tank or armored vehicle before throwing the sock. D Company took the high ground around the little village of Fosse, the Germans suffered heavy losses.
Herb remembers being tired and hungry, the snow and cold temperature were terrible. One moment, he wanted to sit down to rest, finding no dry place to land, he sat on a German soldier, who had just been killed, his body was still warm.

Herbert mentioned that the men lacked warm clothing, food and ammunition, it was not pleasant to see, however to survive American soldiers had no alternative but take the blankets, socks and hats, as well as arms and ammunition from the soldiers who had been killed in action. After the battle of Cheneux his unit literally ran all night to reach the summit of a ridge, ice was covering the entire region, Herbert fell too many times and knew he would break a leg if he continued to carry his machine gun, he tied a used ammunition belt to the machine gun and dragged it behind him; he met a lieutenant who ordered him to carry his machine gun, Herb explained the situation. The officer threatened to Court-martial him, Herb answered back:
"I suggest you start right now Sir!"

Note by Christian W. de Marcken, who is the historian of the Central Massachusetts Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, Major Lamar J. Soutter

Chapter XXII, located in Worcester, Massachusetts:
"I have 148 books on the Battle of the Bulge, I lived in the Belgian Ardennes during five (5) years and I know the area fairly well.

I would not be surprised if the "Hill" mentioned by my friend Herbert is the Highway crossing called «Baraque de Fraiture", otherwise known as "Parker's Crossroads" in the area of Manhay and Lierneux.

On January 11, 1945, the 504th PIR was relieved and sent to Sougne-Remouchamps to rest for two weeks. Herb remembers that his squad was assigned to a home located along the Ambleve River, the lady of the house, who he called his Belgian mother, was Mrs. Bechaimont, she had a nine (9) year old son, who knew a few words of English, he acted as the interpreter for all the members of my squad, said Herb.

Note: Four (4) years ago Herb asked to Christian de Marcken to try locate a member of the family,who owned the house where he and his squad

where housed during the rest period in Sougne-Remouchamps. Herb recalled that the hostess had a husband and two older sons, who were all prisoners in Germany. Christian has many friends who lived in the area of Sougne-Remouchamps, where he had lived as a youth and where his parents were well known in the village.
Fortunately, after four (4) years Beverly Adams found four (4) postcards, which had been sent by her husband during the Battle of the Bulge.

On one postcard Herb had marked a cross on the house where he was and he had written:
"This is the house of my Belgian mother."
On another Post Card showing the village of Grand-Halleux, Herb placed also a cross on the picture and Herb wrote:
"A picture of the village where I was from January 6 to January 10, 1945. I and five (5) other soldiers were the only paratroopers, who protected the village for four (4) days. The "X" is where I place my machine gun into position. There were three feet of snow and it was below zerodegrees. "

Another photo shows the Ambleve River crossing Sougne - Remouchamps again Herb had placed a cross showing the house where he was during that week.

"This village was covered with snow the last time I saw it in January 1945. I have never been so warmly received by the population, not even in the United States."

Even today, the voice of Herbert Adams changed and you can hear his emotion when he speaks of Sougne-Remouchamps, when he speaks of his mother Belgian. It means he will never forget Mrs. Bechaimont and his young son. The fact that the population of Sougne Remouchamps gave their all their bed sheets to serve as camouflage for Paratroopers in the snow of the Ardennes is always mentioned by Herbert Adams, when he talks about the Battle of the Bulge.In thanks, Herbert sent money to the Scout Troop in 2002 Remouchamps thanks for the bed sheets given by their grandparents during the Battle of the Bulge.The fourth card shows Montjardin Castle, the ancient castle on the right was built in 1300, again on the left was demolished after the Second World War, only the stables remain, they have been transformed into a very nice house, where Count Louis de Theux of Montjardin who lives with his wife.

With cards, Christian managed to find out who was Ms. Bechaimont.

Unfortunately the Bechaimont’s boy died, it took some time, however, to locate the little son of the Mother Belgian Herb: Jean-François Bechaimont.
On January 26, 1945, the Division is moving to St. Vith, where she attacked the Siegfried Line in Forst Gerolstein. Herbert Adams's wife, Beverly mentioned that her husband must have a guardian angels sitting on his shoulder because the paratroopers had been committed in support of an armored division, they climbed on the tanks as they moved toward the line forehead. One day Herbert and his team were on a tank, a German shell fell near the tank, killing and injuring all soldiers, except him. Even today, when Herb mentions it, he shakes his head because he does not believe he can not understand how he got out alive. Herbert said that the company "D" has not set foot in a building to rest when it reached Werbomont December 18, 1944 to January 11, 1945. The ground was so frozen, so thick snow and temperatures so low that the paratroopers could not lie down. Three men had come together, and remain standing while holding the shoulder of his neighbor. They let their heads resting against each other, and they dozed and for ten minutes still standing. It seems that most nights were spent running to another critical point, where the Germans threatened to break the American lines. He remembers being left in the direction of a high plateau, where, at an intersection, he saw a fierce battle, but he could never know where his platoon was at the time.

On February 5, 1945 Company "D" has been found somewhere in the Ardennes.
"We have progressed along a stream in a silence and make sure it does not light a cigarette, for fear of being spotted by the Germans, who occupied a position parallel to our route. Unfortunately, after about one one soldier lighted a cigarette, the Germans bombed our immediate area.
Shrapnel touched me on the side of the pocket of my right leg, which had ammunition, it tore the flesh from my leg, the injury was bad and it took a few days before I from landing in a hospital in Paris, France. At that time, I had no movement in my toes, my feet were frozen. For the second time my unit was not aware of what had happened, so the after-action review, identifies me as "Missing in Action" and Beverly was notified by the Ministry of Defence that I was missing combat.
Herb was in Paris for two days, late in the afternoon of the second day a Surgeon notified him that his feet had to be amputated, the operation would be performed the next morning. During night there was such an influx of injured soldier brought in to Paris, that Herbert Adams and his buddies were transported by train to Cherbourg, he was sent to the 164th General Hospital in Cherbourg, France. He was very lucky to be treated by a young American Doctor, who had been stationed in the Aleutians. He had treated many cases of frozen limbs. Herbert asked the Doctor when he was going to amputate his feet. The Doctor answered :" Not if I can avoid this surgery." At that time he grabbed one of Herbert's toes and twisted it. The toe did not fall off, then the Doctor said to Herbert " Since your toe did not fall off, I will be able to save your feet. It will be extremely painful but we will safe your feet." Herbert H. Adams credits the doctor for saving his feet by forcing him to walk. Herb explained that when his feet were frozen, they became completely black. Hundreds of soldiers have lost their limbs because of the cold during the Battle of the Bulge.< The Doctor had Herbert set foot in a five gallon bucket ( = 18.92 liters) and with a scalpel the Doctor lanced the black skin. A foul liquid flowed out of the very badly swollen foot. All this was extremely painful to the poor soldier. The Doctor knew it was absolutely necessary to restore circulation in the foot before the gangrene would force the Doctor to amputated the limb.
The doctor forced the soldiers to walk. One soldier refused to obey, the Doctor called a MP and ordered the Military Police soldier to fix bayonet and to follow the injured soldiers, if the later refused to walk, the MP was to stick his bayonet into the butt of the injured soldiers and forced them to walk, only when they were exhausted were they placed in an ambulance and brought back to the hospital. The hospital consisted of many tents where nurses massaged the feet and very often they re-opened the feet to drain the infection.
This treatment was repeated every day so as to reintroduce the blood circulation in the toes.
No soldier, who were patients of this Doctor, lost the use of their limbs.
Note: I learned something, when Herbert Adams raised the bottom of his trousers to show us the area which had been frozen, he explained that he had completely lost the skin of his feet and even higher than his ankles. Herbert Adams pointed out that his feet and lower legs were lacking hair; he explained to us that all frozen skin had to be replaced and the new skin could not grow hairs.

Herbert H. Adams was in an U.S. Army Hospital which was set up in tents. Each tent had a different function: operation, post operation, recovery, frozen limb, venereal disease, etc. ...
Herbert had been placed in the tent where the poor soldiers had their hands and feet frozen. The smell of frozen limbs was awful and at times the Nurses, who were overworked and very tired, would move the worse cases into a different tent. Herbert landed in the tent which was reserved for soldiers who had "venereal diseases". There, the nurse had no sympathy for the soldiers who had failed to protect themselves against this type of disease. Of course, Herbert did not know where he had been moved to. He would only realized the situation when a nurse gave him a very painful shot!
Herbert grabbed her by the arm and asked her why she had given him such a shot, even before looking at the condition of his feet.
At this time the nurse realized that Herbert was not suffering from venereal disease, she apologized.

Herbert asked her where she originated from in the United States, when Herb heard Skowhegan, Maine, they became instant friends. Herbert lived about twenty miles from this small village. As the health of soldiers progressed, some of them received three day passes to go to Paris. Herb was one of them. While in Paris, he met members of "D" Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. These men were ready to return to the front in Germany that afternoon. Herbert inquired where the trucks were parked. Herbert rushed to the motorpool. He hid under the bench of one of the trucks and when his comrades came, he asked them not to notified the Lieutenant in charge of taking roll call."
When he arrived at the Command Post in Germany, he was questioned by his Captain, who told him he could not reinstated within the Company. Captain Adam A Komosa said:
"Sorry Adams, we cannot take you back, you're AWOL (Absent with out leave ) The regulations did not allow Herbert to resume his duties in Company D without having received orders of transfer from hospital to Company "D"..
Herb showed his "Three Day Pass", which had not yet expired and told the Captain:
"I'm on leave and I want to join my unit! "
This amazed the Captain to see a soldier, so attached to his unit he would do anything to join. The Captain had a great admiration for Herbert Adams and he did not press the issue; a few days later Herbert participated in his first training jump.
Meanwhile, the 164th Hospital reported Herbert H. Adams AWOL. His wife Beverly was again officially notified that her husband was missing. Fortunately, the 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR warned the authorities that Herbert was back in his combat unit in Germany.

Photo of D Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment Captain Adam A Komosa Commanding (first row int the middle of the five Officers wearing khaki pants.)

Pfc Herbert H Adams standing second from the right in the back row.

His unit was transported by train to reach an area where it would cross the Rhine. He remembers being part of the paratroopers who liberated Wöbbelin concentration camp,he remembers seeing the bodies of prisoners who were tortured by the Germans in this camp,.
"D" Company met the Russian troops at the Elbe River on May 3, 1945.

The war in Europe ended May 8, 1945. Shortly after the 504th PIR was returned to Reims in France. After a while the regiment was sent to Berlin, Germany, where it was stationed at military complex, instructions to guard a bank containing "fake" dollar bills. The paratroopers were told the that they were guarding counterfeit bills made by the Germans, these could only be used to light their cigarettes. It was not long before the Military Police arrived with military trucks to pickup all the money in the bank. Only at this time did Herb and his fellow paratroopers discovered that it was real U.S. currency. However a soldier, native of Alaska, had filled his pockets with bills, which he managed to bring back home. After the war, he told Herb Adams that all this money enabled him to buy a boat in Alaska. After the war, Herb Adams was assigned to a newly formed "Honor Guard" also called "All American Guard" because all its members were from the 82nd Airborne "All American". Division.
All members of this elite unit, commanded by Captain Howard A. Stephens were to be 1m83, all paratroopers, all wounded in combat, have an impeccable military appearance, all chosen by officers of the various regiments of the 82nd Airborne Division.
This "honor guard" consisted of three squads of four to eight men. Their duties were to protect the supreme commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he was at his headquarters at the Kleist Palace in Berlin. It was an outstanding assignment, it was the best deal possible. This elite unit had privileges, among which:
- The unit was stationed in special quarters.
- These men were never assigned to kitchen work, cleanings, etc. ...
- Each soldier received four parade uniforms and two pairs of paratrooper boots.
- Each member of this unit had at its disposal all necessary Germans civilians to maintain their equipment, whether to wash their clothes, ironing uniforms, polishing their boots and other leather equipment.
The guard were on duty for one day, then had two days of rest.
Herb remembers getting himself in trouble while in Berlin. One day, he was with a friend at the Brandenburg Monument, when two Russian military officers began to give Herb and his friend a hard time. Fortunately, the Russians do not understand English, and Herbert told his friend to head towards one side of one of the big columns, while he was heading the towards other side. By performing this maneuver, the two Americans struck the Russians on the head and took their weapons before fleeing in a hurry. The next encounter was even worse this time, two Americans Military Policemen arrested Herbert H. Adams and his buddy, who was from Alaska on suspicion of having sold out their cigarettes on the black market. The MPs placed Herb and his friend on the small back seat of the "Jeep". Herbert owned a small German 22 caliber pistol. Herb had it in a small holster attached to one of his ankles. It was an unusual weapon, which had two barrels, which collapsed in order to be better concealed. Herb and his buddy knew they were in trouble; Herb drew his pistol and threatened the MPs, who laughed at the situation. When Herb fired one round, the two MPs, who were not stupid, decided to cooperate and they gave up their Colt .45. Herb and his buddy told the MPs to drive around the block, and they would find their weapons near a monument. At this time, the two paratroopers vanished. Finally the day came, Herbert was on his way back home.
His unit was sent to a camp in southern France called "Lucky Strike". From there, he boarded a Liberty ship and returned to the United States. The vessel encountered a storm, they had to wait at sea for three days before being allowed to enter the Boston harbor. From there he was sent just before Christmas 1945 at Camp Edwards and then to Fort Devens. Herbert Adams and five other soldiers took off for Maine. Meanwhile, all their belongings were stolen. He was finally discharged December 30, 1945.
Herbert Adam resumed the course of his life: he joined his wife who was waiting impatiently. Herb worked for ten years building houses. After that, he founded his own company, his specialty was the fine woodwork and interior design houses.He manufactured furniture specifically for homes. Beverly and Herbert had three children, two boys and a girl. They also have five grandchildren. One of them is a soldier, a sergeant, who has already been to Iraq. His decorations include: Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, the paratrooper wings, the Military Merit Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Medal, European, African, Middle East & Theaters Medal, with four (4) Battle Stars: Anzio, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Germany, the Victory Medal and Army Occupation Medal, the Belgian Fourragere, the Wilhelm Order Lanyard issued by the Queen of The Netherlands. Today, Herbert Adams and Beverly Adams still live in the house they bought in Worcester, Massachusetts after the war. Herbert Adams built a woodworking shop in his basement, he loves to make all sorts of things, lamps, foot stools, tables, etc. ...
For the past fifty (50) years Herbert has been the Scoutmaster of the locate Boy Scouts of America Troop, he is also involved in organizing Regional Boy Scout Clondike Derbies in winter and Camporees in summer. Finally, Herbert frequently accompanies other veterans into schools to talk about his experience as a paratrooper during World War Two and answer questions raised by the students.