New VA home in Enterprise to be called Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins Veterans Home

Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins Veterans Home is the name of the state’s newest Veterans home. The VA home is named after former Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

At an Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs public meeting held July 9 at the Enterprise Civic Center, the SBVA selected the name by majority decision for the new 182,000 square feet facility that will house 175 residents.

The SBVA was welcomed by City of Enterprise and Coffee County officials Thursday, July 8, ahead of the July 9 quarterly SBVA board meeting.  

Enterprise Mayor William E. Cooper and other local officials joined the SBVA and representatives from the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs for a meeting at Fort Rucker with United States Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker Commanding General Maj. Gen. David Francis, Deputy to the USAACE and Fort Rucker Commanding General William G. Kidd, and Fort Rucker Chief of Staff Col. Whitney Gardner. The group then toured the United States Army Aviation Museum on post. 

Enterprise was chosen as the location of the home largely because of the considerable veteran population in Coffee County.

The site of the facility will be on 108 acres off Highway 51 just north of Yancey Parker Industrial Park. Once in full operation, it is expected to provide jobs for more than 200 people.

Adkins is an Oklahoma native who lived in Opelika for a number of years and graduated from Troy University.

Adkins served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and become well-known for his actions during a 38-hour close-combat battle with the North Vietnamese Army in 1966 during the Battle of Shau.

As a sergeant first class serving as an intelligence sergeant his camp was attacked by a large North Vietnamese and Viet Cong force.

According to the U.S. Army, Adkins ran through enemy fire to man a mortar position and continued to fire on enemy combatants despite incurring multiple wounds as the mortar pit he was in received several direct hits from the enemy’s own mortars.

After learning that a number of soldiers were wounded near the center of camp, Adkins turned the mortar over to another solider and ran through enemy fire once again and dragged several of his comrades to safety. Adkins also exposed himself to sniper fire as he carried wounded soldiers to the camp’s dispensary.

Adkins even ran outside the camp to draw fire away from a seriously wounded American solider to allow for his rescue. As the enemy continued to attack into the morning hours of the second day, Adkins was the only remaining American solider still able to fire a mortar weapon. After all of his mortar rounds were expended, Adkins continue to lay down rifle fire against enemy combatants, while also receiving more wounds.

Adkins held off enemy combatants with small arms fire and then he and a small group of soldiers destroyed all signal equipment and classified documents in the camp after being ordered to evacuate. Adkins and that group of soldiers carried their wounded comrades to an extraction point only to find that the last helicopter had already departed.

Adkins then led the group through the jungle and managed to evade enemy combatants until being rescued by a helicopter. According to the U.S. Army, Askins is estimated to have killed between 135 and 175 enemy combatants, while sustaining 18 different wounds to his body during the battle.

As a result of his heroism in this battle, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor – the U.S. Military’s highest honor – and was presented the award in 2014 by former U.S. President Barack Obama. He also received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal during his military career.

After retirement from the military, Adkins graduated from Troy with two master’s degrees and taught classes at both Southern Union Junior College and Auburn University, while also running an accounting company. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate of law by Troy University.

Adkins passed away in 2020 due to complications from COVID-19 at the age of 86.