When Michael Adams was deployed to Iraq in 2003, the 24-year-old lieutenant told his parents he had one goal: to bring all his platoon members back alive.
His worst day, Adams told his father, was when he learned one of the 15 men under him had gone down in a Chinook
helicopter crash. Adams later learned the soldier survived. In fact, no one in his unit would die in Iraq. Except him.
Adams, a 1998 graduate of Kentridge High School in Kent,Washington was killed in an accident in Asad,west of Baghdad while riding in a convoy to Kuwait. He was on his way home.
"His last e-mail to us he said, 'Hopefully, the next time you hear from me, it'll be from Kuwait,' " said his father, Donald Adams, a nature photographer in Leavenworth.
The accident occurred when a passing vehicle struck the tank Lt. Adams was riding in, causing the barrel of a mounted .50-caliber machine gun to swing and strike him from behind. He was pronounced dead at a combat support hospital.
"It was just a very tragic traffic accident," his father said.
Lt. Adams was a tank platoon leader with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colo. Born in Wichita, Kan., he moved with his family to Fairwood southeast of Renton Washington as a third-grader. As a Boy Scout, he showed a flair for leadership early on. By his sophomore year at Kentridge, he had made Eagle Scout. As a senior, he was named commander of his Junior ROTC unit.
He was nominated to the United States Military Academy at West Point by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. After graduating in 2002, he trained to be an armor officer at Fort Knox, Ky., before being assigned to Fort Carson.
Lt. Adams was the oldest of two children.
His worst day, Adams told his father, was when he learned one of the 15 men under him had gone down in a Chinook
helicopter crash. Adams later learned the soldier survived. In fact, no one in his unit would die in Iraq. Except him.
Adams, a 1998 graduate of Kentridge High School in Kent,Washington was killed in an accident in Asad,west of Baghdad while riding in a convoy to Kuwait. He was on his way home.
"His last e-mail to us he said, 'Hopefully, the next time you hear from me, it'll be from Kuwait,' " said his father, Donald Adams, a nature photographer in Leavenworth.
The accident occurred when a passing vehicle struck the tank Lt. Adams was riding in, causing the barrel of a mounted .50-caliber machine gun to swing and strike him from behind. He was pronounced dead at a combat support hospital.
"It was just a very tragic traffic accident," his father said.
Lt. Adams was a tank platoon leader with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colo. Born in Wichita, Kan., he moved with his family to Fairwood southeast of Renton Washington as a third-grader. As a Boy Scout, he showed a flair for leadership early on. By his sophomore year at Kentridge, he had made Eagle Scout. As a senior, he was named commander of his Junior ROTC unit.
He was nominated to the United States Military Academy at West Point by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. After graduating in 2002, he trained to be an armor officer at Fort Knox, Ky., before being assigned to Fort Carson.
Lt. Adams was the oldest of two children.
When Michael Adams was deployed to Iraq in 2003, the 24-year-old lieutenant told his parents he had one goal: to bring all his platoon members back alive.
His worst day, Adams told his father, was when he learned one of the 15 men under him had gone down in a Chinook
helicopter crash. Adams later learned the soldier survived. In fact, no one in his unit would die in Iraq. Except him.
Adams, a 1998 graduate of Kentridge High School in Kent,Washington was killed in an accident in Asad,west of Baghdad while riding in a convoy to Kuwait. He was on his way home.
"His last e-mail to us he said, 'Hopefully, the next time you hear from me, it'll be from Kuwait,' " said his father, Donald Adams, a nature photographer in Leavenworth.
The accident occurred when a passing vehicle struck the tank Lt. Adams was riding in, causing the barrel of a mounted .50-caliber machine gun to swing and strike him from behind. He was pronounced dead at a combat support hospital.
"It was just a very tragic traffic accident," his father said.
Lt. Adams was a tank platoon leader with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colo. Born in Wichita, Kan., he moved with his family to Fairwood southeast of Renton Washington as a third-grader. As a Boy Scout, he showed a flair for leadership early on. By his sophomore year at Kentridge, he had made Eagle Scout. As a senior, he was named commander of his Junior ROTC unit.
He was nominated to the United States Military Academy at West Point by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. After graduating in 2002, he trained to be an armor officer at Fort Knox, Ky., before being assigned to Fort Carson.
Lt. Adams was the oldest of two children.
His worst day, Adams told his father, was when he learned one of the 15 men under him had gone down in a Chinook
helicopter crash. Adams later learned the soldier survived. In fact, no one in his unit would die in Iraq. Except him.
Adams, a 1998 graduate of Kentridge High School in Kent,Washington was killed in an accident in Asad,west of Baghdad while riding in a convoy to Kuwait. He was on his way home.
"His last e-mail to us he said, 'Hopefully, the next time you hear from me, it'll be from Kuwait,' " said his father, Donald Adams, a nature photographer in Leavenworth.
The accident occurred when a passing vehicle struck the tank Lt. Adams was riding in, causing the barrel of a mounted .50-caliber machine gun to swing and strike him from behind. He was pronounced dead at a combat support hospital.
"It was just a very tragic traffic accident," his father said.
Lt. Adams was a tank platoon leader with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colo. Born in Wichita, Kan., he moved with his family to Fairwood southeast of Renton Washington as a third-grader. As a Boy Scout, he showed a flair for leadership early on. By his sophomore year at Kentridge, he had made Eagle Scout. As a senior, he was named commander of his Junior ROTC unit.
He was nominated to the United States Military Academy at West Point by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. After graduating in 2002, he trained to be an armor officer at Fort Knox, Ky., before being assigned to Fort Carson.
Lt. Adams was the oldest of two children.
