AUBURN, Ala. – A former high school catcher, Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins reacted instinctively during the battle for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.
"When he was in a mortar bunker, the Vietnamese threw a grenade in that he actually caught and threw back at them," said Dr. Keith Adkins, Bennie's son.
From March 9-12 in 1966, the U.S. Army Special Forces solider defended Camp A Shau when a larger Viet Cong force attacked, repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers, despite sustaining 18 wounds while fighting with mortars, machine guns, rifles, small arms and grenades.
Nearly five decades later, President Barrack Obama awarded Adkins the Medal of Honor, saying "In Bennie's life, we see the enduring service of our men and women in uniform."
Auburn baseball coach Butch Thompson learned of Adkins' heroism when Keith Adkins brought his son, Bennett, to Auburn's father-son camp. After learning of Thompson's affinity for history, Dr. Adkins gave Butch a copy of his dad's book, "A Tiger Among Us."
Bennie Adkins' dog tags grace the book's cover, giving Thompson the inspiration he sought to honor Auburn's players of the game, something with significance.
"I wanted meaning and purpose to it. I was looking for something to hit me over the head," said Thompson, who called Dr. Adkins when the idea came to him on the bus ride to play North Alabama on Feb. 21. "We need dog tags."
Dr. Adkins instantly approved.
"I thought that was an absolutely perfect homage to him and to Green Berets and their A-Teams," Keith Adkins said. "The whole concept of Special Forces and how they work in individual teams with 12 soldiers, and how committed they are to each other."
Coach Butch Thompson presented dog tags to the Adkins family during Auburn's series vs. Southern California
One tag reads, "Bennie G. Adkins, 2014, O Positive, Protestant," indicating name, the year the Medal of Honor was awarded, blood type and religious affiliation.
The other reads, "Auburn Baseball, POG (Player of the Game), Attack, Legacy, Vision, 2023."
Last year, Auburn's captains presented Top Gun hats to the Tigers' players of the game. This season, Thompson gave the team a history lesson before introducing the new concept.
He told them that of the 40 million people who have served in the U.S. military in its history, only 3,515 have received the Medal of Honor. He explained that the larger dog tags chain has 365 beads while the smaller one has 52, allowing captured service members to mark time.
"It's a big, big deal," said Thompson of Medal of Honor recipients. "It puts some purpose when we go out there and play."
Bennett Adkins, grandson of Medal of Honor recipient Bennie Adkins, thew out the first pitch before Auburn played Southern Cal
Thompson presented a pair of dog tags to the Adkins family when Auburn hosted Southern California on Feb. 25. Bennett Adkins, the 9-year-old grandson of a Medal of Honor recipient, threw out the first pitch.
After Auburn's 12-6 victory, starting pitcher Christian Herberholz and first baseman Cooper McMurray received the dog tags.
"It's something special," said McMurray, whose three-hit game included his first Auburn home run "Honoring these veterans who have served and knowing that there are things bigger than baseball. It's an honor to get these and be able to help the team win."
An internet search yields plentiful information about Bennie Adkins' valor. To his family, that's only part of the story.
"What I would want them to know is what he did when he got out of the service," Keith Adkins said, mentioning his father's teaching career at Auburn University and Southern Union State Community College, and the accounting business he founded and operated for 22 years before he passed away in 2020. "How he kept giving back, sacrificing and trying to help people throughout his entire life."
After receiving the Medal of Honor at age 80, he created the Bennie Adkins Foundation to award educational scholarships to Green Berets non-commissioned officers, an enduring legacy of selflessness in a life that will be commemorated this season with each Auburn baseball victory.
'I wanted meaning and purpose to it'
On the day @AuburnBaseball honored the Adkins family, @Herb21Christian & @CoopMc9 received the Player of the Game dog tags. #WarEagle I #MedalofHonor pic.twitter.com/GSjkGYYCTu
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) March 3, 2023
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer