Robert enlisted in the Navy at Walla Walla, Washington, and was said to have been the first man under the age of 18 accepted by the navy in that district.  He left for San Diego on Dec. 11, 1940.  He was promoted to Boilermaker, Second Class on Sept. 1, 1942.  In December of that year, he was reported missing from the cruiser he was aboard.  Yet there is more to his story - he has a death date of Nov. 30, 1942, and is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii (Section F, gravesite 950), so he obviously went from "missing" to "killed"

Survivors included his mother, Mrs. Fred (Ruby) Remus; sister, Eva Lee of Walla Walla; three half-brothers (Richard, Melvin and Duane Remus), and a half-sister (Darlene Remus).  Besides being preceded in death by his father, he also lost a sister, Betty Virginia Dinneen. 

After graduation, he worked as a clerk at Fairmont's Ice Cream, while living with his parents.  He entered the service of the Royal Canadian Air Force on March 11, 1941 before transferring to the Army Air Force on Jun 11, 1942.  The following month, on July 7, 1942, Lt. Adams along with Lt. John J. Offut of New Castle, Pennsylvania, was killed in a plane crash during a routine training flight at Harris Field in Macon, Georgia, at the age of 23.

His funeral was held at the Methodist Church in Huron, Kinyon funeral home in charge of arrangements, with military honors by the American Legion.  He was buried at beautiful Riverside Cemetery at Huron.  Robert was survived by his parents, George and Edith Adams, along with a younger sister, Mary Jane, all of Huron.

It was apparently while in California that he enlisted in the service, on January 30, 1941 in Sacramento.  He listed California as his residence, and he worked in the mining industry.  He was stationed at Ft. Ord, California until April of 1943, when he was sent to the Aleutians.  From there, he was sent to the Hawaiian Islands, and finally into combat in the Marshall Islands of the south Pacific, specifically Kwajalein in December of that same year.

On January 31, he received minor wounds.  The citation accompanying his Silver Star Medal describes the situation: ""When the patrol of which Private Anderson was a member was ambushed by the enemy on January 31, he crawled forward under heavy fire to deliver machine gun ammunition and also assisted in operating the machine gun, until the enemy attacked the position with powerful offensive grenades. Disregarding all measures of safety Private Anderson located the hidden enemy, dueled with them at a distance of 10 yards, and directed the first of the machine gun until enemy resistance was wiped out.  This action was a determining factor in bringing the fight to a speedy conclusion."  His parents back home, in the meantime, received a telegram notifying them of these minor injuries.  He was discharged from the hospital on February 2.

After being wounded during such aggressive fighting, many people might have thought twice before doing it again, but three days after his discharge from the hospital, Clement Anderson was back at it.  The Silver Star Medal citation also describes the scene of February 5: "... Private Anderson, while displaying the same type of bold aggressiveness in an assault on a Japanese dugout, was killed by enemy rifle fire.  Pvt. Anderson's heroism, aggressiveness and cool thinking was an inspiration to his unit throughout the action."  He was also awarded a Purple Heart, both posthumously.  He was 25 years old at the time of his death.

He was described by his sister as "a kind, humble man who loved to hunt."

A ship was built and named by the military to honor him.  It was christened in February of 2005 at Kwajalein Atoll, where Clement was killed, and members of his family were on hand for its half-hour maiden voyage.