John Adams, 89, combat pilot in three wars

By J.E. Geshwiler

For the AJC

As a 19-year-old, John Adams was a pitcher for the Atlanta Crackers and had what he thought was a pretty good fastball. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he entered military service as a pilot, and the high hard ones he would deliver thereafter would be of a more lethal variety.

One of the few American pilots to see combat during three major conflicts -- World War II, Korea and Vietnam -- he piloted a B-17 Flying Fortress on air raids of Japanese forces on Okinawa, a B-29 Superfortress on attacks against North Korean and Chinese troops at the Yalu River and a C-47 gunship on missions in Vietnam. In all, he mastered the controls on more than 20 different types of aircraft, from biplane trainers to jets.

“John was a very skillful, very cool pilot,” said a longtime comrade-in-arms, Paul Lyons of Atlanta. “We met when the two of us each had military advisory assignments in Nicaragua in the ‘60s, and he would fly us to landing strips that were unimproved at best. He could set his gooney bird down anywhere.”

In the direst of circumstances, Mr. Adams was unflappable, said his son, John A. Adams Jr. of Orlando, Fla. Once he had to land his C-47 in enemy territory outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to pick up a downed U.S. airman. His plane was too badly shot up to take off, and so he, his crew and the downed pilot had to sweat it out while U.S. planes provided covering fire for a rescue helicopter.

Another time he was on a training exercise aboard a Nicaraguan navy vessel that accidentally collided with another boat and sank like a stone. “Pop was thrown into the water without a life jacket and had to wait for hours to be rescued,” said his son. “He was an exceptional swimmer but, just as important, he kept his head.”

During his 31-year Air Force career, Mr. Adams was also a flight instructor, a test pilot, a court-martial judge, prosecutor and defense attorney. His last major assignment before his retirement in 1973 was director of operations at the sprawling Tan Son Nhut air base outside Saigon.

John A. Adams, 89, died Wednesday at his Norcross home of complications following a heart attack. His funeral will be at 1 p.m. today at the Norcross First Baptist Church with internment afterward at the H.G. Wright Cemetery. Crowell Brothers Peachtree Chapel Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

As a young pitching prospect, Mr. Adams showed genuine promise. He threw one no-hitter for the National Biscuit Co. semipro team and two no-hit gems for the Crackers. “Even into his early 80s, Pop could still throw a knuckle ball. You could read the label on the ball as it approached you,” his son said.

Thirty-one years as an Air Force officer gave Mr. Adams a certain gravitas even after retirement. “People called him Colonel Adams,” his son said, “not that he wore his rank on his sleeve.”

In civilian life, Mr. Adams still heard duty call. He led the Norcross Lions Club, the Pinckneyville Community Association and the Gwinnett chapter of the American Cancer Society. His made his biggest imprint on Gwinnett, however, as trustee of the county’s library system during the 1980s.

“The colonel was very instrumental in the modernization of our county’s libraries at a crucial time in their development,” said Lillian Webb of Norcross, former Gwinnett County chairman. “His good judgment was invaluable in making decisions about a library system chairman and site selection. He seemed to know a lot about libraries from his travels while in the military.”

Mr. Adams had one unusual diversion -- his eight-acre vineyard of Muscadine grapes. “Our mother, who died a year ago, had long been disabled because of polio, and because he was devoted to her, he wanted a hobby that kept him close to home and near her,” said another son, Ronald Adams of Cumming.

“This past harvest was the biggest ever,” said John Adams Jr. “Pop would invite neighbors and friends to come gather the Muscadines, and let children pick and eat as much as they liked. While Pop was a teetotaler, he would make a bit of wine to serve friends.”

Survivors also include four grandchildren and one great-grandson.