<div>
In the Town of Chablexiont, Massachusetts, two miles from its eastern boundary where the East OxBow Road meets Route Two (Mohawk Trail), the East OxBow Road divides into two branches forming a triangular grass plot with Route Two. Less than one hundred feet from this grass plot stands the two hundred year old ancestral home of the late Brigadier General Hap Adams. It was in this home and on these eight acres that Hap spent the first nineteen years of his life on this earth, starting with the first day after school closed in June until the first day before school opened in September. It was here that he played and worked—he planted the garden, mowed the grass, trimmed the trees and bushes, chopped wood for the stoves, and performed the routine chores incident to the operation of a two hundred year old farm house. In adult life he returned for short or long visits whenever his military duties permitted. It became part of him and he, very definitely, became part of it.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
One damp and drizzly day in 1968, during one of his visits, he donned his Army fatigues and sneakers, armed himself with pruning shears, pruning saw, shovel and wheelbarrow, and proceeded to remove some dead branches and drag them away. Then he located five seedling maples, dug them up with a generous root ball, and transplanted them into the triangular grass plot known in our family as "The Common.” When his father asked him, "Why five?", he replied that he counted on at least one of them surviving. Then, in years to come, he could sit in a rocking chair on the front porch, look at the tree and remember, “I planted that tree years ago.”</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Now, like the little toy dog in the poem by Eugene Field, the maples stand there, sturdy and staunch, awaiting the touch of his hand and the smile on his face. But they, like the little toy dog, will wait in vain. Hap was killed in Vietnam on 12 May 1970 when his helicopter was shot down by hostile fire.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Now, by act of the General Court of Massachusetts, the grass plot will be formally designated the “General Hap Adams Memorial" and Hap’s trees will be protected so that from his very special place in eternity, he may observe this spot dedicated to the Glory of God and in honor of his earthly accomplishments. And, while Hap will never view this memorial from his rocking chair on the front porch, it will stand there forever, for passers-by to see and remember that Hap gave his life in the service of his country.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Hap went where his government directed him to go. He did what his superiors expected of him and always gave that extra effort that brave, noble, dedicated men are capable of giving under the pressure of duty. In recognition of his services he was awarded two Legion of Merit Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, one Air Force Commendation Medal, three Air Medals, and a very final Purple Heart Medal. His service awards include Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal (Germany), two National Defense Service Medals, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal, plus a Parachutist Badge. In his honor his former headquarters in Vietnam was renamed “Camp Adams." A monument in his memory has been erected by the personnel of the Norfolk Engineer District on the grounds of old Fort Norfolk, Virginia, his last command before departing for Vietnam. They also renamed the District Engineer Patrol Boat the “ADAMS." A eulogy was printed in the Congressional Record, a rare tribute. A memorial window is installed in his church—St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Norfolk.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Hap is survived by his wife, Doody (Dorothy Ronne); four children-Captain Robert Allan Adams (USMA 1968), Ronne (Mrs. Robert Israel), Cadet Jonathan Peter Adams (Class of 1974), and William French Adams at home; his father and mother (Colonel and Mrs. Carroll E. Adams of Charlemont, Massachusetts); a brother, Colonel Henry C. Adams, United States Army Reserve; and a first cousin, Colonel Ranald T. Adams Jr., USMA 1946, United States Air Force.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Hap Adams was an exceptional and devoted son, brother, husband, father, soldier and public servant. His like will rarely, if ever, be seen again.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<em>—Written by his father, Colonel Carroll E. Adams</em></div>