Clarence Adams, a World War II veteran and former Prisoner of War, turned 100 on July 27, and the Redlands Community Senior Center invited the community to celebrate.
Clarence was born in Wakefield, England, in 1918 and was drafted into the British military in 1939. He was trained as a gunner in an artillery unit then as a radio signalman while deployed in France during World War II. He was captured in Dunkirk and held as a prisoner of war for five years, being moved via boxcars from place to place with little to no food. After realizing Clarence was a carpenter by trade, this made his life as a POW a little easier. He was liberated by General George Patton’s Army on April 29, 1945.
The Redlands Community Senior Center celebrated Clarence’s 100th birthday during the center’s Senior Lunch Program, from 11 a.m. to noon Friday, July 27. The center is located at 111 W. Lugonia Ave. in Redlands.