JROTC building at Loudoun County High School named for Captain James F. Adamouski US Army.
Anyone who has read the fifth book in my Det. Louis Martelli, NYPD, mystery/thriller series—Eighth Circle—knows that Lou’s character honors my wife Susan’s and my good friend Captain James F. “Jimmy” Adamouski, US Army. In fact, not only was this book dedicated to Jimmy, but also, the book’s Afterword, reprinted below, talked about Jimmy’s life and, sadly, his death.
Now comes word from Jimmy’s dad, LTG Frank Adamouski, US Army (ret.), indicating the JROTC building at Loudoun County High School will be named for his son on Veterans Day, November 11, 2019. General Richard Cody will speak as well as others, the cadets will perform, the high school glee club will perform patriotic songs, and veterans of past wars will attend and may speak. This entire event has been supported by West Point classmates of Jimmy; the attendance by General Cody and LTG Polumbo was made possible by them. There will be a Veterans Day celebration prior to the Dedication involving the entire school. That will be a separate event from the Dedication Ceremony that will follow the students return to classes.
As seen below, the building already is decked out with its new name:
Photo courtesy Tonya Dagstani
If you are not familiar with Jimmy’s story and why he was an inspiration to so many, then you will find the Afterword to Eighth Circle below of interest.
Afterword
I have always been puzzled by the dedications found in novels and other forms of literature, small but important ‘honors’ paid to friends or family members, mentors perhaps, or a person who played an important role in the author’s life or the birth of the literary piece that now carries the honoree’s name. For most of us—dare I say all?—the dedication often is viewed as a private matter between the author and the person honored, something to which we are not privy. It’s a communication within a society of the chosen, if you will. We don’t know the secret handshake.
You may have felt the same as you read the dedication in this book. There you saw the words ‘For Jimmy’. Perhaps you simply shrugged, guessed it was a friend of mine, someone I knew and respected, and then you moved on and (I hope) enjoyed the novel.
But there is more to this dedication than that. ‘Jimmy’ was James Francis Adamouski, Captain, United States Army, a friend of my wife Susan’s and mine, and son of our good friends, Judy and Lt. Col. Frank Adamouski, US Army (ret.). Frank and I worked together for many years, traveling occasionally from Washington, DC, to Ft. Monmouth, NJ, for our work. When in New Jersey, we took time and headed north to visit Jimmy, who was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. There, he not only excelled academically but in sports as well, soccer being his game of choice. We had many a good meal together at The Thayer Hotel, something to which I always looked forward. And what an honor it was for those who attended Jimmy and Meighan’s wedding in Savannah, GA, after his graduation to witness the solemn ceremony with its military formality and to attend the beautiful reception that followed.
Upon graduation, Jimmy attended flight school at Ft. Rutger, AL, where he learned to fly Black Hawk helicopters. His first overseas deployment was in support of the US efforts to quell the Kosovo conflict, where as a lay Eucharist minister in the Catholic Church, the troops took to calling him “Father Jimmy” because he conducted prayer services for his fellow soldiers. Jimmy, who was to enter Harvard Business School in the fall of 2003, was killed in action when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq on April 2, 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His remains were buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery and West Point Cemetery.
If someone were to conclude Jimmy was the inspiration for the character Louis Martelli in my NYPD mystery/thriller novels, they would be correct.
Rest in peace, Jimmy. Thank you for your service to our country.
Photo courtesy of the Adamouski Family: Judy, Frank, Karen, Laura, Jaclyn, and Meighan (Jimmy's wife)
James Francis Adamouski, Captain, United States Army
2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
Died in Central Iraq, April 2, 2003, at the age of 29
Theodore Jerome Cohen
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Veterans Day
November 11, 2014
Now comes word from Jimmy’s dad, LTG Frank Adamouski, US Army (ret.), indicating the JROTC building at Loudoun County High School will be named for his son on Veterans Day, November 11, 2019. General Richard Cody will speak as well as others, the cadets will perform, the high school glee club will perform patriotic songs, and veterans of past wars will attend and may speak. This entire event has been supported by West Point classmates of Jimmy; the attendance by General Cody and LTG Polumbo was made possible by them. There will be a Veterans Day celebration prior to the Dedication involving the entire school. That will be a separate event from the Dedication Ceremony that will follow the students return to classes.
As seen below, the building already is decked out with its new name:
Photo courtesy Tonya Dagstani
If you are not familiar with Jimmy’s story and why he was an inspiration to so many, then you will find the Afterword to Eighth Circle below of interest.
Afterword
I have always been puzzled by the dedications found in novels and other forms of literature, small but important ‘honors’ paid to friends or family members, mentors perhaps, or a person who played an important role in the author’s life or the birth of the literary piece that now carries the honoree’s name. For most of us—dare I say all?—the dedication often is viewed as a private matter between the author and the person honored, something to which we are not privy. It’s a communication within a society of the chosen, if you will. We don’t know the secret handshake.
You may have felt the same as you read the dedication in this book. There you saw the words ‘For Jimmy’. Perhaps you simply shrugged, guessed it was a friend of mine, someone I knew and respected, and then you moved on and (I hope) enjoyed the novel.
But there is more to this dedication than that. ‘Jimmy’ was James Francis Adamouski, Captain, United States Army, a friend of my wife Susan’s and mine, and son of our good friends, Judy and Lt. Col. Frank Adamouski, US Army (ret.). Frank and I worked together for many years, traveling occasionally from Washington, DC, to Ft. Monmouth, NJ, for our work. When in New Jersey, we took time and headed north to visit Jimmy, who was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. There, he not only excelled academically but in sports as well, soccer being his game of choice. We had many a good meal together at The Thayer Hotel, something to which I always looked forward. And what an honor it was for those who attended Jimmy and Meighan’s wedding in Savannah, GA, after his graduation to witness the solemn ceremony with its military formality and to attend the beautiful reception that followed.
Upon graduation, Jimmy attended flight school at Ft. Rutger, AL, where he learned to fly Black Hawk helicopters. His first overseas deployment was in support of the US efforts to quell the Kosovo conflict, where as a lay Eucharist minister in the Catholic Church, the troops took to calling him “Father Jimmy” because he conducted prayer services for his fellow soldiers. Jimmy, who was to enter Harvard Business School in the fall of 2003, was killed in action when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq on April 2, 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His remains were buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery and West Point Cemetery.
If someone were to conclude Jimmy was the inspiration for the character Louis Martelli in my NYPD mystery/thriller novels, they would be correct.
Rest in peace, Jimmy. Thank you for your service to our country.
Photo courtesy of the Adamouski Family: Judy, Frank, Karen, Laura, Jaclyn, and Meighan (Jimmy's wife)
James Francis Adamouski, Captain, United States Army
2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
Died in Central Iraq, April 2, 2003, at the age of 29
Theodore Jerome Cohen
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Veterans Day
November 11, 2014
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