Adams enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 1, 1917. in Schenectady and entered World War I at age 17. He served as a private first class in Company D 105th Infantry in France and Belgium, fighting on the Hindenburg Line, in the Battle of the Selle and in the 1015th Brigade attack on the Knoll.
Not yet 20 years old, Adams was discharged April 1, 1919, and came home to Lansingburgh, where he raised a family and never talked about his service.