ENTERPRISE – Hundreds attended the Friday dedication of the Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins State Veterans Home, named after an Alabama native who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic conduct during the Vietnam War.
Kent Davis, Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs commissioner, noted, “This has been seven years in the making."
In October 2018, the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs voted to build a new home in the Wiregrass region. In January 2020, they selected the site in Enterprise. Construction began in late 2021 and was completed around July 2024.
Scott Gedling, vice chairman of the State Board of Veterans Affairs, remarked, “It required studies, contracts, funding, hard work, perseverance, commitment, and patience. But more than anything, it required teamwork.”
Davis acknowledged, “I’d like to thank the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the state of Alabama, the Enterprise City Council, and the Coffee County Commission for their generous support in the construction and dedication of this beautiful facility, both financially and spiritually.”
“We’re here today to honor a great man, my father," Dr. Keith Adkins, son of Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins, stated. "He was born in Oklahoma, South Oklahoma, depression-era Oklahoma, to a large family, poor cotton family. That family and that upbringing instilled the values that made him great, that is, values of family, hard work, accountability, and self-sacrifice.”
The elder Adkins was drafted during the Vietnam War, where he distinguished himself in March 1966 by killing an estimated 135–175 enemies during a 36-hour battle and leading survivors in a daring two-day escape through the jungle.
After retiring from the military, Adkins obtained a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees and started an accounting business — all while raising three children with his wife. Dr. Adkins praised his father, a humble man who never sought the spotlight and a dedicated servant who invested in the community and established a non-profit educational scholarship fund for Green Beret soldiers.
The keynote speaker was Capt. Michael Rose, U.S. Army (Ret.), a Medal of Honor recipient and friend of Command Sgt. Maj. Adkins.
Rose shared a quote from WWII-era Fleet Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, who once stated, “There are no great men, there are only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.”
“That was Bennie Adkins," he added.
“This facility is something that says to the world that the people of the state of Alabama care about our veterans and care about the things that they have done, the losses they have," Rose stated.
The new 182,000 sq. foot facility is the fifth such home in Alabama. It will house 174 veterans and provide jobs to more than 200 people.
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