Master Sergeant Danial R. Adams was born on December 19, 1975, in Portland, Oregon, and grew up an adventurous Oregonian. His parents, Penny and James Adams, made their home in Hillsboro. Teammates would later know him by the nickname “Slim,” a nod to his slight build that belied the fierceness of the man.
Dan joined the Army in 1995, right after high school, as an infantryman. He served first with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry at Fort Richardson, Alaska, and the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry at Fort Lewis, Washington. Along the way he completed Airborne School, the Jungle Warfare School, Air Assault School, Jumpmaster School and Ranger School, and he earned both the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
In 2005 Dan earned the Green Beret. His first Special Forces assignment was as a senior medical sergeant with the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, where he served on Company C, 3rd Battalion. His reputation as a warrior and an outstanding medic preceded him. In 2009 he joined the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Stuttgart, Germany. Over his career he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan several times, including once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan from Stuttgart.
By 2011 Dan was the team sergeant for Operational Detachment Alpha 0123, Company B, 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, serving with Special Operations Task Force 10. On September 13, 2011, his team was engaged in an intense firefight with insurgents during combat operations in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, under heavy fire from rockets, mortars and small arms. Dan was killed leading from the front. He was 35 and was posthumously promoted to master sergeant. His teammates later wrote that his insistence on carrying extra ammunition that day saved their lives: “Had it not been for Slim’s emphasis on bringing along extra ammunition, this ceremony could have very well been for five people. Slim’s preparation saved our lives.”
His awards and decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, five Army Good Conduct Medals, the NATO Medal, the Special Forces Tab, the Ranger Tab, the Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge.
Memorial services were held in Clackamas, Oregon, and in the Panzer Chapel on Panzer Kaserne in Stuttgart, and a formal funeral took place at Fort Bragg on September 29, 2011. His battalion commander said, “Dan left this life just as he lived it, with fire inside and leading from the front. He died doing what he loved.” His teammates wrote that he had the heart of a lion yet remained a quiet professional. Dan is survived by his wife Melany, his sons John and Jeffrey, his daughter Skye and his parents.
Danial’s heroic actions under heavy ambush fire shielded his detachment and demonstrated the ultimate height of Special Forces valor.
Special Operations Task Force Command
Sources
- U.S. Army: Service honors, remembers fallen 1/10 SFG (A) Soldier (Oct. 6, 2011)
- ARSOF History: Master Sergeant Danial R. Adams
- The Oregonian: Mourners remember Master Sgt. Danial Adams
- The Oregonian: Oregon soldier Danial Adams killed in a ‘very intense firefight’
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Danial Adams Bio.docx
