Staff Sergeant Paul N. (Red) Adair

Staff Sergeant Paul “Red” N. Adair contributed significantly to the Ordnance Corps and newly forming field of bomb disposal during World War II. Staff Sergeant Adair enlisted in 1943 and took Infantry training at Fort Hood, Texas where he would later volunteer for bomb disposal service.

After bomb disposal training Staff Sergeant Adair was assigned to 139th Ordnance Service and was attached to 8th Army Ordnance but took their orders directly from the Army G-2. On 31 August his squad was reassigned to Tokyo. On 1 September 1945, Staff Sergeant Adair and his squad were sent up a mountain that overlooked Tokyo Harbor. It was still dark when they departed on the mission. Their mission was to find a reported artillery position that might be used by dissident Japanese to interfere with the surrender that would take place the following day (2 September 1945). His squad waited on their bellies in high wet grass, behind an outcropping of boulders at the top of the mountain, waiting for the morning fog to lift.

Their intelligence and determination resulted in finding two loaded but abandoned 16-inch guns, which were trained on the battleship USS MISSOURI (BB-63). Staff Sergeant Adair and his platoon leader unloaded the guns, while the rest of the squad fanned out and provide security. He placed shaped charges on both breeches of each gun and successfully destroyed the guns.

During the Occupation of Japan his squad searched the Japanese countryside for unexploded ordnance leading to the squad encountering an entrance to an underground bunker that had blast doors that were thicker and heavily armored than they encountered before. Upon successfully breaching the doors his squad discovered a secret Japanese military underground research laboratory.

After his military service ended Staff Sergeant Adair transitioned into the civilian world where he took his explosives and other military training and created his empire in the oil well firefighting industry.

Staff Sergeant Adair’s awards and decorations include the Asiatic Pacific campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal.

Staff Sergeant Adair passed away on August 7 2004.