Lt. Colonel Paul Adams was born in 1920 in Greenville, South Carolina. Adams entered the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1942. After graduating as a fighter pilot, he was assigned to patrol the Naples harbor, flying with the 332nd Fighter Group. This African-American unit, known as the “Red Tail” group because of their distinctive aircraft paint scheme, established the unprecedented record of flying more than 1,500 missions in Europe and North Africa, losing only ninety-eight pilots.

After the war, Adams served at a variety of locations worldwide and finally, as Deputy Base Commander at Lincoln, Nebraska. He retired in 1963 after twenty years of service. He served in nine major campaigns and received the Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters. After retiring from the Air Force, Adams joined the staff at Lincoln High School as an Industrial Arts teacher. One of the first three African-American teachers in the school system, he continued to teach until 1982.

back