Sergeant First Class Bennie G. Adkins

Bennie G. Adkins was born on February 1, 1934, in Waurika, Oklahoma. He was drafted into the US Army on December 5, 1956, at the age of 22. When Camp A Shau was attacked by a large North Vietnamese force, in the early morning hours of March 9th, Adkins rushed through intense enemy fire and manned a mortar position defending the camp. He continued to mount a defense, even while incurring wounds from several direct hits from enemy mortars. Upon learning that several soldiers were wounded near the center of camp, he temporarily turned the mortar over to another soldier, ran through exploding mortar rounds and dragged several comrades to safety. As the hostile fire subsided, Adkins exposed himself to sporadic sniper fire, and carried his wounded comrades to a more secure position at the camp dispensary, and transporting a wounded casualty to an airstrip for evacuation. He and his group then came under heavy small arms fire from members of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group that had defected to fight with the North Vietnamese. Despite this overwhelming force, Adkins maneuvered outside the camp to evacuate a seriously wounded American, and draw fire away from the aircraft all the while successfully covering the rescue. Later, when a resupply air drop landed outside of the camp perimeter, Adkins again moved outside of the camp walls, to retrieve the much needed supplies. During the early morning hours of March 10th, enemy forces launched their main assault. Within two hours, Adkins was the only defender firing a mortar weapon. Adkins then single-handedly eliminated numerous insurgents with small arms fire, almost completely exhausting his supply of ammunition. Braving intense enemy fire, he returned to the mortar pit, gathered vital ammunition and evaded fire while returning to the bunker. After the order was given to evacuate the camp, Adkins and a small group of soldiers destroyed all signal equipment, and classified documents, dug their way out of the rear of the bunker, and fought their way out of the camp. Adkins then rallied the remaining survivors and led the group into the jungle, evading the enemy for 48 hours until they were rescued by helicopter on March 12th. During the 38-hour battle and 48-hours of escape and evasion, Adkins fought with mortars, machine guns, recoilless rifles, small arms, and hand grenades, killing an estimated 135 to 175 enemies, while sustaining 18 different wounds. As a member of Special Forces, Adkins served three non-consecutive tours in Vietnam during his 22-year career. He retired from the military on August 31, 1978. On September 15, 2014, Adkins was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama. Adkins was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster and "V" Device, the Purple Heart with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal with Bronze Clasp and Five Loops, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with one Silver Service Star and one Bronze Service Star, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with "60" Device, the Republic of Vietnam Bravery Medal with Brass Star, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm Device, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Special Forces Tab, the US Army Master Parachutist Badge, the Vietnamese Parachutist Badge - Two Awards, the Expert Badge with Rifle and Pistol Bars, the Sharpshooter Badge with Carbine Bar, and the Marksman Badge with Machinegun Bar. Sergeant First Class Bennie G. Adkins passed away on April 17, 2020, in Opelika, Alabama. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.