Army Staff Sgt. Frank E. Adamski III

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Frank E. Adamski III, 26, of Moosup, Conn.

SSgt Adamski was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died March 29, 2011 in Konar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire.

On Wednesday night, family members confirmed that Sergeant Frank Adamski, of Plainfield, was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

"We had a lot of fun together. Frank was a great guy," said Lee Cote, a friend of Sgt. Frank Adamski. Cote is having a hard time coming to terms with the death of his friend.

"I had just sent Frank a birthday message, because his birthday was last night. I sent him a message. I said I miss you, I love you, I hope you come back safe," said Cote.

Cote, who grew up with Adamski, sent that birthday message on Facebook, and then learned the sad news from one of Adamski's cousins.

"When I heard that, I was thinking maybe he's just joking around with me. I asked him about 5 times is this a joke. I just didn't want to believe it. My best friend has been in the army 7 years now. That's the worst part. No one should have to celebrate a birthday this way," Cote said.

We spoke with Adamski's Aunt by phone. She told us her nephew was home on leave just a few weeks ago to be with his wife Danielle, and celebrate his baby daughter's first birthday.

"If I can say, I'm really ashamed, because I didn't get a chance to see him 2 weeks ago, because he was away for so long, he wanted to spend time with his daughter," Cote stated.

This wasn't Adamski's first tour of duty. His Aunt tells News 8 he had also served in Iraq. She says the family is still waiting to hear about the circumstances surrounding his death.

A patriot is how Lee Cote describes his friend.

"He was really passionate about our country, and that's why he did it. He wanted to put himself out there, and make a stand for our country. He really cared about our country. To Danielle, and the rest of his family, I'm speechless. I don't know what to say. I really wish it was me and not him," Cote said.

Frank E. Adamski III died Tuesday, the day before what would have been his 27th birthday, according to Carol Anne Rowe, Adamski’s stepmother.

Rowe said Adamski had been serving in Afghanistan, though she did not know if he was killed there. Rowe said she was informed of Adamski’s death by his father, Frank E. Adamski Jr., of Voluntown, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.

“Frankie,” as he was known by Rowe and his friends, was a 2002 graduate of Plainfield High School, where he played on the football team, Rowe said. She laughed when recalling how Adamski broke his leg “in a stellar fashion” during a high school game.

Rowe, a former Plainfield selectman who now lives in Killingly, said she married Adamski Jr. when Frankie was 9, and he lived with Rowe, his father and Rowe’s son, Chris Fink, now 26, until he was 16. “To me, he’s always that 9-year-old kid,” Rowe said, choking back tears.

Rowe said Adamski enlisted in the Army after high school, and then re-enlisted after serving four years. A 2007 article in The Bulletin lists Adamski as an Army E-4 specialist who enlisted in March 2005 and was deployed to Iraq’s Al Almbar province from January 2006 to February 2007.

Rowe said he was an “excellent brother” to his stepsister and Rowe’s daughter, Veronica Adamski, 12. “My daughter adores him,” Rowe said.

Rowe said she was glad Adamski was home so recently, and told her daughter to cherish the time spent with him. “I just keep telling my daughter that you had that moment of a hug and good-bye and ‘stay safe.’ Most people don’t have that,” Rowe said.

Army Staff Sgt. Frank E. Adamski III was killed in action on 3/29/11.