 |
Remember...Virgil Boyd Adkins
|
Fallen soldiers are often easily forgotten, as family and friends drift away and no one remains to tell their stories. Russell E. Bennett Jr. has made it his mission to ensure this scenario does not happen as he places headstones for veterans in various cemeteries around his native state. He has done much to preserve the story of Private Virgil Boyd Adkins. In Russell's words:
Sometime before 2012 someone alerted me to a homemade headstone for what appeared to be a casualty of the Korean War. I was flabbergasted at this discovery.What I found out was that his remains were never recovered and that a family member placed the homemade marker in the family plot at Hilltop Cemetery in Hinton. I also learned that his widow was still living at the time. I along with Fred Long, who was editor of the Hinton News went to visit her. It was also learned that there was never a service of any kind for the fallen soldier. . . .
Anyway after I acquired the headstone a memorial service was given to Virgil. Turnout was excellent. . . . Nick Joe Rahall (US Rep WV) attended and spoke. . . .
Then sometime afterwards his remains were identified and there was another service. I think this one was graveside. A special honor guard crew escorted the body, etc. I remember in removing the flag from the casket and folding it, they were half way into the folding part that they recognized that they were folding the flag INCORRECTLY! I saw it happening. It was really amazing to watch the honor guard back out of the fold and redo it. Of course no one knew what was happening except me! (Russell E. Bennett Jr. email, 28 January 2025.)
Virgil Boyd Adkins was born to James Sims Adkins and Bertha May Bowden Adkins of Hinton in Summers County on New Years's Day in 1932. His siblings were Marguerite Mae Adkins (married name: Bennett), Ruby Ann Adkins (married name: Brabb), Harold Sims Adkins, Carl Wilford Adkins, and Jane Gertrude Adkins (married name: Spade). (Family information from Federal Census documents for 1940 and 1950 and the Find A Grave Memorial for Virgil [89515598].) Virgil married Sarah Elizabeth Adkins, who was but 16 years old at the time in 1953. That year, Sarah gave birth to Virgil's only child, Virgil Lewis Adkins, who lived just two months after his birth. (After Virgil's death, Sarah would go on to marry Daniel C. Gill, with whom she had three sons and two daughters.)
| The 1950 census finds 18-year-old Virgil single and working 50 hours a week as a janitor helper at City Hall in Hinton. But the Korean War was looming, and by 1953, Virgil was experiencing events that would shape his family for the rest of their lives. As noted, he had married Sarah and had a son, who died in infancy. July, however, found him already in Korea, where he would meet his untimely death on the 17th. At first declared missing in action, it was later determined that he was killed in action but his remains were unrecoverable. This status meant that he was listed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii. Without access to his remains, his family remembered him in the Hilltop Cemetery with a cenotaph of their creation. |  Family marker for Virgil B. Adkins in Hilltop Cemetery. Find A Grave photo courtesy of Fred Long |
As time went on, Virgil's sacrifice became apparent in his home county, and on August 17, 2012, a memorial service was held in his honor. Well attended, remarks were delivered by Summers County Commission President Jerry Berry and Hinton Mayor Joe Blankenship. Keynote speaker of the day was Representative Nick Jo Rahall, whose remarks are reproduced here in entirety:
Were we citizens of many foreign and distant lands, today might end without a passing thought of a forgotten soldier in a forgotten war.But, as the beautiful new take on the old hymn, Amazing Grace, we heard earlier says, "What once was lost now is found." Democracy in our Republic gives each of us the power to choose. The freedom to choose is a powerful force.
It is true that the many freedoms we enjoy may well allow us to choose to forget—every once in a great while—our Nation's fundamental foundations.
But the freedoms we depend upon, also grant us the power to discover. And, every July 4th, as we celebrate our Declaration of Independence its principal author said, freedoms allow us "to pursue truth, wherever it may lead."
Today is a celebration for one who defended our freedoms. One who defended our rights by taking personal responsibility to serve our Nation and to serve truth by pursuing it.
That precious gift is one prized by a free press. Fred Long understands that the power of the pen quite naturally helps the power of the purse. Fred has helped organize today's ceremony with a noteworthy host committee. So we thank, Fred; Russell Bennett; Mayor Blankenship and the City of Hinton; the Summers County Commission and President Berry; and the many individuals and organizations listed in the program for contributing to and coming together for this ceremony to recall, remember and relate to future generations a valuable lesson from our past.
A few months ago, a band of veterans who have lived some of those lessons of the past, arrived in their nation's capitol [sic] aboard an Honor Flight from West Virginia. For most of these decorated veterans, it was the first time they would see the memorials erected in their honor.
I told them that, without their service, the U.S. Capitol building, heck, even the whole Capitol [sic] city might not well exist. Down from the Capitol building on the great mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial resides a war memorial.
Once described as the forgotten war, the Korean War had far too many hard fought battles to ever justify a title like that. The service and sacrifice of those enlisted in our cause will live on enshrined forever in the fitting and solemn granite and bronze memorial built in their honor.
I reminded our veterans that on the granite wall of this memorial was carved a lesson for the ages with these words, "Freedom is not free."
Here in Hinton, a once forgotten soldier is now, and rightly so, a cause to celebrate as long as freedom rings. The short life, the long legacy, and the eternal lesson of Virgil Boyd Adkins will be enshrined here.
Today, we memorialize a young Mountaineer and a moment in which he cared more about his fellow troops than himself. Through my office, we were able to secure a number of medals and decorations to justly honor his selfless acts.
One award particularly defines his heroics, the Silver Star, the third highest military honor a soldier can receive. With its presentation, Private Adkins joins the ranks of John "Black Jack" Pershing, Omar Bradley, Jimmy Doolittle, and Norman Schwarzkopf.
It is a noble medal with a red, white and blue ribbon reflecting Old Glory's colors. Below it proudly hangs a five pointed gold star. In its center, rests a silver star atop a sunburst of rays extending to a wreath of laurel, the ancient symbol of victory.
On the medal's reverse side are only four words. It reads simply, "For gallantry in action." Gallantry, a word we seldom use. It is one of the few we reserve to match the highest standard of human conduct.
We think back to that field of battle in Korea, almost 60 years ago. On a hot July day, the sky filled with enemy fire, "HEAVY enemy fire," the official citation reads. Virgil Boyd Adkins rose above the danger to his own life to save the lives of others.
And when retreat was sounded, Private Adkins volunteered to stay behind and provide cover for his fellow troops.
While the whereabouts of his Earthly remains may be known only to God, let his courage and commitment to our cause remain forever etched on the hearts of freedom-loving people everywhere.
A great general—MacArthur—once said, "However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country is the noblest development of mankind."
Private Adkins met that measure more than once on that summer day. That he summoned the inner strength, the gallantry, to protect his buddies, so they could live another day to promote the cause of freedom, should not surprise any West Virginian. Here among our hills, still to this day, we nurture the roots of gallantry displayed by Private Adkins.
Though those of us here have faced severe, even life threatening challenges, especially of late. Our challenges, more often than not, pale in comparison to those born in the theater of war. But, when you grow up where you can count on neighbor helping neighbor as sure as you can on the next sunrise, it sticks with you. Those solid roots let us stand tall. It is a virtue that continues to serve us so well.
When we send a soldier off to war, he or she does not go alone. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and children all go to war with their loved ones. Spouses serve and sacrifice right along with their husbands and wives.
So today, we honor Private Adkins' sister, Jane Spade, and his widow, Sarah Gill. Jane and Sarah, a grateful Nation thanks you for the sacrifice you made in sharing one of our most gallant sons. To all of Private Adkins' family and friends, we owe a debt of gratitude that, as a nation, can never truly be repaid.
Each of us here takes on an added civic responsibility from this day forward. Each time we pass the memorial marker honoring Virgil Boyd Adkins, we should pause for a moment and point to his memorial marker and share the story of his gallantry with our friends and family.
It's up to us to remind them that it is because of Virgil, and all those who wear our Nation's uniform, we live and enjoy the fruits of freedom.
God bless each of you and God bless America.
Thank you. (Pvt. Virgil Boyd Adkins, Find A Grave, Memorial ID 89515598, posted 3 May 2012, accessed 4 February 2025.)
Military marker for Pvt. Virgil Boyd Adkins in Hilltop Cemetery, Hinton. Find A Grave photo courtesy of Russell E. Bennett Jr.
The recipient of both the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, Pvt. Adkins now had the recognition he deserved. But his remains were still missing. Then, on May 8, 2016, came word from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that Pvt. Adkins's remains had been accounted for. His personnel profile acknowledges that on July 17, 1953, he was killed in action against enemy forces during a patrol of the area north of the Demilitarized Zone in central Korea. In December 1993, the North Korean government returned a set of remains that were reportedly recovered near Private Adkins's last known location. Advances in forensic technology eventually allowed Pvt. Adkins to be identified from those remains, which were returned to the States and buried in Hilltop Cemetery. Virgil Boyd Adkins is also remembered at the Korean War Memorial in the nation's capital. His name is engraved on the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, where a rosette is placed beside his name acknowledging that his remains have been found.
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure, who gratefully acknowledges information provided by Russell E. Bennett Jr.
March 2025
Honor...
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
