Darlington veteran who disarmed bombs now fights for paycheck

Green Beret Clarence Adams of Darlington went from disarming bombs in Afghanistan to fighting for a job when he returned home in 2008. This was not what Adams expected — an unforgiving economy that was hesitant to hire anyone, including a war hero.

As a member of the Army Reserve, Adams left his job behind to fight for his country, and when he returned to the U.S., he didn’t have a job. He came home to Darlington to be near his mother, Joy Adams.

Adams said he searched for months without any luck. He applied for numerous positions in security and law enforcement, which were areas he thought would be compatible to his military training.

“I was depressed. I couldn’t find a job,” Adams said. “Nobody was hiring.”

Then, he turned to the Hartsville Workforce Center on Fourth Street in Hartsville for help in locating a job. Just when he was about to give up, he received a call. The workforce center had an interview for him.

That was in May. On his first job referral with Securitas Security Services, Adams was hired. For the past six months, he has been training and working at the H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant in Hartsville as an armed nuclear security officer.

“(I) couldn’t ask for a better job,” Adams said.

His mother said she is proud of her son. He has a good job with good pay and benefits.

“I love it, I really do,” Adams said.

Employees at the Hartsville Workforce Center decided to do something to honor the veteran.

On Tuesday, employees at the Hartsville Workforce Center presented Adams with a quilt made by one of the workforce employees in Columbia and signed by all of the employees in the Hartsville office. Employees watched as Sen. Gerald Malloy and Hartsville Workforce Center Director Steve Hampton made the presentation.

Katrina Macari, Special Projects, ESC, with Hartsville Workforce Center, said, “He was recognized at our conference and is the most wonderful, mature, down-to-earth person you could ever hope to meet.”

The employees wanted to do something special for him for Veterans Day.

“We try to place vets first,” Hampton said.

Hampton said they were glad to be able to connect Adams with a local company.

“They got an excellent employee,” Hampton said.

Malloy said the soldier came back to a difficult economy and that the employees at the Hartsville Workforce Center should be commended for giving a helping hand.

Adams’ Veterans Day is special because his two grandfathers, for whom he is named, fought in World War II. He said it is a time people show respect for those who have fought for their country, for those who are still fighting and for those solders who gave their life for their country.

In March, Adams will be returning to Afghanistan to continue fighting for his country. He begins training in January and is with the 323rd Engineer Company out of Spartanburg.

Adams, who spends one weekend a month with the Reserves, said he knew when he joined that he would get deployed.

“I knew I’d get deployed, but I didn’t know that it would be that quickly or this many times,” he said. “I signed up for eight years.

“When my time is up in 2014, I will most likely re-enlist,” Adams said. “It gives me a sense of purpose. I can protect my country, and as long as I’m able, I’ll keep doing it.“

His mother said she worries about her son, especially with the duties his job as a Combat Engineer entails.

Adams said he works with heavy weapons, explosives, weapons and route clearance of explosives.

It wasn’t until after basic training that Adams told his mother what his job would be.

“I will worry,” Joy said about her son’s return to Afghanistan.

She said, however, she is so grateful for the means of communication soldiers now have to keep in touch with their families.

“With a laptop, it made it so much easier for the last deployment,” she said.

“My mom, Aunt Lisa and family are real supportive,” Adams said. “It might not be the safest job, but they are supportive.”