Tonight we come to join in remembering the life of Master Sergeant Danial R. Adams. He died in a far-off land, but now we welcome him back home again from his final journey.
Master Sergeant Danial R. Adams
Danial R. Adams was a native of Oregon. He graduated from Sunset High School which was then located in the unincorporated Cedar Mill area near Portland. (Later, in 1999, the area was annexed by the city of Beaverton, Oregon.) According to a story posted at Oregon’s KGW news site:
Classmate from the class of 1994, Matt Miles said he had gone to school with Adams since 7th or 8th grade. "A good guy . . . doesn't surprise me that he chose to serve and excelled like he did . . . RIP brother."
Danial joined the Army in 1995, shortly after graduation. He served as an Infantryman and as a team and squad leader while stationed at Fort Richardson in Alaska.
Adams’ duty stations included Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort Lewis, Fort Bragg, and Stuttgart, Germany. While in the US military, Adams took courses in Airborne School, Jungle Warfare School, Ranger School, Jumpmaster School, Air Assault School, and he took the Special Forces Qualification Course.
After a short assignment at Fort Lewis, Washington, as a squad leader, Adams earned the Green Beret in 2005. His first Special Forces assignment was as a senior medical sergeant with the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
In 2009, Adams joined the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), which is located in Stuttgart, Germany, where he served on a Special Forces team. He had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On September 13th, as a Sergeant First Class, Adams was leading a team of special forces soldiers on a mission in the Wardak province in central eastern Afghanistan. They were engaged in "a very intense firefight,"
according to a spokesman for the 10th Special Forces Group. Danial R. Adams died in the attack by insurgents who were using mortar, machine-guns and small-arms. Adams was the only US casualty of that engagement. He was 35 years old.
Another friend is quoted by
KGW news:
Courtney Tidwell, a friend of Adams' told KGW he was an "incredible" man who was "always a solder." They said he loved his country and died for it.
Among the decorations earned by Danial Adams, were the Bronze Star, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the NATO Medal and the Special Forces and Ranger tabs, as well as badges for combat and expert infantry.
Adams was posthumously promoted to master sergeant. His wife and children returned to the states from Germany to help with the planning for the funeral to be held for Master Sergeant Danial Adams. No details have been released about the arrangements. A memorial service will be held in Stuttgart, but details for the service still are being worked out also.
Master Sergeant Danial R. Adams is survived by his parents, James and Penny Adams, who live in Hillsboro, Oregon; his wife Melany; his two sons Jeffrey and John; and his daughter Skye.
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About the IGTNT series:
”I Got the News Today” is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is maintained by Sandy on Signal, Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, Twilight Falling, Joyful, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, Kestrel 9000, & TheFatLadySings. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but show our community’s respect for those who have died.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diarized two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner.
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Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.