The hero in Vietnam, whose gratitude was given to him after nearly 50 years

The heroic acts of Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins during the Vietnam War are hard to conceive. He defended himself a military base of a North Vietnamese assault, during which he carried helicopter wounds (under enemy fire), fought the body, then missed the climb into the escape helicopter because he refused to leave the wounded in follow.

These actions took place during a single fight that spread over several days, and Adkins killed over 170 enemies and managed to escape with life, writes War History Online.

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Despite these facts, he received only the Distinguished Service Cross, the second medal of importance in the United States after the Medal of Honor. However, after a review of the past honors, it has come to the normal conclusion that Adkins's deeds are far beyond his duties and far beyond the Cross for Distinction in Service.

He did not plan on pursuing a military career

Bennie Adkins was born in 1934 in a small town called Waurika in Oklahoma. Adkins did not plan on pursuing a military career. She tried the faculty, but with so many beautiful girls around, as she described, she did not do too well. He gave up in 1956 and was taken into the army the following year. Here, Adkins found his vocation, although his resume in the special troops began with the task of a lyricist in a German unit.

From Germany, he was later transferred to the second Infantry Division where he offered himself as a volunteer for special troops after being trained as a paratrooper.

Adkins has been in special troops for 13 years with various groups on three different occasions in Vietnam: in 1963, 1966 and 1971. Although he undoubtedly has done his duty in all three, the 1966 period deserves more attention, especially 72 hours of this period.

Adkins was along with the 5th Special Forces Group, based on "A Shau," which was in a strategic position near the Ho Chi Minh Road and was used to transport South Vietnamese soldiers. There were only 15 members of the special troops defending the base and several hundreds of South Vietnamese.

He did not want to leave anyone behind

On the morning of March 9, 1966, a North Vietnamese force of more than 2,000 soldiers attacked the base, and then Adkins fought. Under enemy fire, he managed to reach a mortar in a position that was good enough to keep the enemy forces away. Although he was injured by the north-Vietnamese mortals, he managed to cope.

After learning that more than one soldier was injured, he ran (also under enemy fire) to save his comrades. Things worsened because, as a result of confusion, the South Vietnamese began to shoot in the Americans. At this point, Adkins walked out of the base to catch fire on him to cover the eviction of an injured soldier. It came out of the base again when an essential supply landed, and they were only on the first day.

The following morning, the North Vietnamese resumed the attack in the waves. As the situation worsened, Adkins and some remaining soldiers withdrew into the communications bunker as the last line of defense.

Remaining almost without ammunition, they were ordered to evacuate the base, and the soldiers dug themselves behind the bunker to escape. After destroying the equipment left behind, Adkins helped transport the wounded to the point of escape, although he had 18 wounds.

While the South Vietnamese rushed to helicopters, Adkins and his group of fighters moved more slowly for insisting on the wounded. As the fire continued, Adkins was informed that the last helicopter had left, leaving a few people behind, including Adkins.

Major Sergeant had to lead the group of people through the jungles of Vietnam in an attempt to stay alive and not be captured.

Two days later, on March 12, Adkins and his men were eventually evacuated by a helicopter, and at least that week, the battle was over.

"The Sergeant Major has contributed far beyond and beyond what was required of him in defending the base"

It is estimated that Adkins killed between 135 and 175 enemy soldiers while defending the base and attempting to escape.

His captain, Captain John Blair, then said, "The Major Sergeant has contributed far beyond and beyond what was required of him in defending the base."

For the actions of these days, Adkins received only the Cross for Distinction in Service, which is the second after the Medal of Honor, but insufficient for the contributions made. One reason is that the training of the South Vietnamese at war, under the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG), was of a secret nature, and the award of the most important distinction drew public attention.

In 2014, Bennie Adkins received the highly-honored Medal of Honor at the age of 80. Moreover, the newly-given attention gives history students a new opportunity to analyze the war that took place in Vietnam.

source:descopera.ro