MGA Graduate’s Son To Share His Father’s Pearl Harbor Story At Roberts Library

Author: News Bureau
Posted: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 12:00 AM
Category: Pressroom

Cochran, GA

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Valda Adams Jr., a Cochran native and alumnus of Middle Georgia College (now Middle Georgia State University), watched in stunned disbelief as Japanese airplanes dipped and swerved from the horizon of Pearl Harbor and opened the door to World War II for the United States. Adams left a comprehensive written account of what he saw through correspondence and often talked about his experiences with his son, Jim Adams.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, Jim Adams will share his father’s stories at Roberts Memorial Library on the Cochran Campus of Middle Georgia State. This event is free and open to the public.

About Jim Adams: He grew up with the Pearl Harbor story and later became an underwater archaeologist and diver at the USS Arizona Memorial, conducting routine monitoring and scientific research on the sunken battleship. When Arizona survivors pass away, their cremains can be interred into the ship as part of a military funeral. This solemn ceremony was part of Jim Adam’s duties.  

He is a historian and archaeologist with a bachelor’s in history from the University of South Carolina and a master’s in anthropology from the University of Hawaii.  After retiring from the Marines Corps, Adams, after working as an underwater archeologist and historian for the National Park Service at The USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, worked at Biscayne National Park in the Florida Keys. He is a co-author of the book, “USS Arizona: The Ship, the Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack and the Symbol That Aroused America.”