Sister Cities International board member, Edmund Adams, will participate in the Honor Flight Tri-State from Cincinnati to Washington D.C. on Tuesday, May 22. The purpose of the Honor Flight Program is to recognize American military veterans for their sacrifices and accomplishments who served their country during wartime.
Adams, as a 1st Lieutenant, was a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, and Battery Commander of a HAWK surface-to-air missile unit on the West German-East German border near Kassel, Germany in 1964-65 during the early stages of the Vietnam War.
All eight generations of Adams family have served in the military since their arrival in the United States from Northern Ireland in 1750. The service included the French and Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War (including the Battle of Brandywine), the War of 1812, the Civil War (including the Battle of Gettysburg and confinement in the Confederate prison camp Andersonville, Georgia), Custer’s Last Stand (George Adams died and Jake survived), World War I (in the Artillery in France), World War II (including the Battle of the Bulge), during the Vietnam War and in the Gulf War.
While serving in Germany, Adams developed a deep appreciation of Germany and its culture that, many years later, led him to create the Cincinnati Sister Cities Program, specifically the Cincinnati-Munich Sister City partnership.