Last Known Activity:
CPT Adair was called to active duty shortly after Pearl Harbor, and assigned to the Armored Force at Fort Knox, KY. In March of 1943, he was sent to England as advance party for his unit.
One day after D-Day, on 7 June 44, he landed with elements of 1st Army at Normandy, and was assigned to fuel supply for the 1st Army's drive to Germany.
He stayed in this capacity through every campaign into the Central Europe campaign and was present at the Elbe River crossing.
Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe, near Torgau in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two.
On "Elbe day" the commander of the 69th Infantry Division of the First Army, Emil F. Reinhardt, and the commander of the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army, Vladimir Rusakov, met at Torgau, southwest of Berlin. Arrangements were made for the formal "Handshake of Torgau" between Robertson and Silvashko in front of photographers the following day, April 27.
The Soviet, American, and British governments released simultaneous statements that evening in London, Moscow, and Washington, reaffirming the determination of the three Allied powers to complete the destruction of the Third Reich.
After VE Day, his unit was rotated back to the states after a brief occupation duty stint. He was then demobilized and discharged from active duty.
|