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New state veterans home to be named for Bennie Adkins

ENTERPRISE, Ala. (AP) — A new state veterans home in southeast Alabama will be named for Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, who received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War and died of COVID-19 last year, officials said Friday.

The new home, with space for 175 veterans, will be located in Enterprise, according to a statement from the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs.

Adkins was “well-known statewide for his bravery and heroism, especially in southeastern Alabama with his close ties to the community,” said Chad Richmond, the vice chair of the board.

Adkins, a resident of Opelika, received the nation’s highest military honor from then-President Barack Obama during a 2014 White House ceremony. A sergeant first class at the time, he was credited with braving fire to drag troops to safety and fighting off waves of Viet Cong attackers in the A Shau Valley of South Vietnam in 1966.

He died of the illness caused by the new coronavirus in April 2020. He was 86.

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