In 1931 Adams's unit was transferred to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, when the naval government of the islands was replaced by a civilian administration, thus separating Adams from family, friends, and his source of social influence. Only a dozen works from a reportedly much larger output survived a December 27, 1932, fire that destroyed Adams' St. Thomas home. The blaze killed his daughter Hazel and burnt a cache of manuscripts, both scholarly writings and unpublished compositions. In 1933 he retired into the Naval Fleet Reserve and returned to St. Thomas, not long after resuming his duties for the public school music program. A brief return to newspaper editorship for The Bulletin Thomas was cut short by World War II, when he was recalled to active duty. Sent back to Guantánamo Bay Adams took over an all-white unit and received permission to reinstate eight former bandsmen thus creating the first racially integrated band sanctioned by the U.S. Navy. The next year Adams and the other islanders were transferred to St. Thomas to reform the original unit, again as an all-black ensemble. The band would be transferred again in 1944, this time to Puerto Rico. Adams retired from the Navy permanently in 1945.