Samuel A. Adams

Samuel A. Adams
Born	June 14, 1934
Died	October 10, 1988
Alma mater	Harvard College
Occupation	intelligence analyst and whistleblower

Samuel Alexander Adams (June 14, 1934 – October 10, 1988), known as Sam Adams, was an analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is best known for his role in discovering that during the mid-1960s American military intelligence had underestimated the number of Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers. Although his opinion was challenged, he pushed the case for a higher troop count. The issue under debate was called the Order of Battle (O/B). His efforts, however, in 1967 met strong and persistent opposition from the Army (here MACV) which, in the short-term, prevailed against him.

Following his testimony for the defense during the 1973 prosecution of Daniel Ellsberg, Adams resigned from the CIA. In 1975 his critical article on Vietnam intelligence appeared in Harper's. He then testified before a House committee about the Vietcong O/B. In 1982 he was a consultant for a television documentary on Vietnam. Consequently, he was named as a co-defendant in a media-covered civil trial for libel, which was successfully defended. When he died, he was finishing his book about the CIA in Vietnam.

Although he was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he was born into the prominent Adams family of Massachusetts. His father Pierpont 'Pete' Adams was a stock broker and member of the . Sam Adams attended St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts. He graduated in European history from Harvard College, class of 1955. After two years in the Navy, he attended Harvard Law School, then worked for awhile in banking.

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