Vinson Byron Adkinson III
Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army

Vinson Byron Adkinson III was born on 18 December 1983 in Harper, KS.

Adkinson, who was also known by "Trinity" because he was the third Vinson in his family, was the "guy everyone loved," according to his younger brother Jacob. Many of his friends knew him by his nickname "T-Bird" while he was in school at Empire. He left Empire when he was a junior and moved to Kansas to live with his aunt before he graduated in 2003.

He immediately entered into the U.S. Army, according to his close friend Chase Hutto. "He went straight in," Hutto said. "He was dedicated to it, but he would always look me up when he was back in the area."

Vinson began his military career with the 82nd Airborne Division; he then served with the Honor Guard of the 4th Infantry Division. Vinson was currently a Staff Sergeant, Airborne and Ranger qualified, and assigned to the 173rd Airborne Division based out of Hamburg, Germany. He was serving his fifth tour; three in Iraq and in his second tour in Afghanistan. He was in his eighth year of overseas assignment. But Jacob said Vinson's time spent in the military was just where he wanted to be. "He was every bit of a soldier," Jacob said. "It sounds like that thing you always hear, but he lived his life to serve his country. He loved every bit of it."

Jacob said that his brother was very proud of everything he got to do with the military and was very thankful for the experiences he had while in the Army. "He got to see and do things that he never thought he would do and he appreciated it," Jacob said. "He loved his friends and his battle buddies. The Army was his family, his home."

Jacob said he talked to his brother almost daily and when Vinson was stateside, he would look up Jacob to spend time with him. He said Vinson was the classic big brother while they grew up, and that they had their fair share of spats. "But that stuff turned me into a man. He was my best friend and I knew him inside and out," Jacob said. "And he's really the main reason I joined the military."

Personal

He married Veronica Marie Stewart on 17 June 2005 at Independence, KS.

Death and Burial

Army Ranger, Staff Sergeant Vinson Bryon Adkinson III was killed in action in Afghanistan on 31 August 2010 by an improvised explosive device (IED) that exploded near his unit, killing him and four additional soldiers. Vinson was 26 years old. He is buried at the Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, Comanche County, OK.

Survivors include his wife, Veronica, of the home in Colorado Springs, CO; his father, Vinson Bryon Adkinson Jr., of Comanche, OK; a brother, Jacob Aaron Adkinson of Stillwater, OK; a sister, Mary Kay Adkinson of Wichita, KS; his paternal grandmother, Mary Ellen Adkinson of Duncan and maternal grandmother, Sharon Kay Morgan of Wichita, KS; and many other family members.

He was preceded in death by his grandfathers, Vinson Bryon Adkinson Sr. and Robert Allen Morgan Sr.