The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, PFC Elmer Adkins, who died in the service of his country on February 6th, 1945 in Luzon, The Phillippines. The cause of death was listed as KIA. At the time of his death Elmer was 21 years of age. He was from Huntington, West Virginia.
The decorations earned by PFC Elmer Adkins include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
Army Private First Class Elmer Adkins was born in Stiltner, Wayne County, West Virginia, on February 29, 1920, the son of Parker and Cloey Clark Adkins. The 1930 United States Federal Census lists the following children for Parker and Cloey Adkins: Marutta [Mary?] (19), Golden (17), Cora (15), Dorothy (14), Noah (13), Elmer (11), Parker (9), Martha (4), Izella [Zela?] (2), and Ruth (1). A death notice for Elmer in the Wayne County News (March 23, 1945) indicates his brother Parker Jr. was also serving in the Army overseas. Brother Golden was living in Wayne, while apparently Noah and Ira B. (not in the 1930 Census) were at home. Sister Mary had married a Napier and was living in Mingo County, while Dorothy had married a Spence and remained in Stiltner, as did Charity (not in 1930 Census), who had married a Fry. Martha had married a Day and apparently remained in Wayne County, while Zela was still living in her parents' home. Cora is not listed in the death notice, indicating she might not have survived into the 1940s.
Little is known of the early life, schooling, and employment history of Pfc. Elmer Adkins, but at the time of his Army enlistment at Huntington, West Virginia (August 7, 1943), he stated that he had obtained a grammar school education and had worked in the occupational category of "semiskilled chauffeurs and drivers, bus, taxi, truck, and tractor," according to U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. He indicated too that he was single, but with dependents. Because of the size of his family and the fact that he had several younger siblings, it is easy to infer that he might have listed younger brothers and sisters as dependents.
Burial:
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
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