Hundreds attend first Salute to Veterans Ball at Hoover's Finley Center

More than 320 people gathered at the Finley Center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex Thursday night for a Salute to Veterans Ball.

The event included a white tablecloth dinner, music and dancing, recognition of veterans from all branches of the U.S. armed forces and a speech by Medal of Honor winner and retired Army Command Sgt. Major Bennie Adkins of Opelika.

It was a fundraiser for the Vettes -4-Vets organization and should end up netting about $35,000 after expenses, said Mark Davis, the founder and chairman of the group, which provides an array of support for veterans and their families.

Davis said he was extremely pleased with the turnout for the event, especially since this is the first year the military-style ball has been held. Attire was black-tie, with suits for men and evening gown or other formal attire for women, but both active and inactive members of the military were encouraged to wear their uniforms.

Guests mingled and danced a little during a 45-minute reception that started at 5:15 p.m., and the program began around 6 p.m. Because Vettes-4-Vets is centered around automotive enthusiasts, five Corvettes were parked in the banquet area, and Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato drove a Z06 Corvette onto the floor at the beginning of the program.

Retired Army Major Gen. David Burford, who spent 37 years with the Army Special Forces, served as master of ceremonies, and Ron Bradstreet, commander of American Legion Post 911, talked about the importance of honoring warriors but not the wars.

Bradstreet, who joined the Army at age 18, said he did so because his two best friends enlisted. “We joined on the buddy system, and we saw each other four years later,” he said.

His goal was just to do his job to the best of his ability and get out after his years were up, but he ended up serving more than 40 years in the U.S. Army, including more than 20 years of active service and more than 20 years as a Junior ROTC instructor in high schools.

“I worked with the greatest warriors in the world in the greatest army in the world — well-trained, highly motivated, steely-eyed freedom fighters, men and women who when called to fight would fight for victory,” Bradstreet said. “Few really wanted to go, but if they had to go, they were prepared for victory.”

The purpose of Thursday night’s ball was to honor all generations of men and women who have served in the armed forces since the American Revolution, he said.

“Young men and women who stepped up and stepped in voluntarily knowing they would be placed in harm’s way,” Bradstreet said. “From liberating enslaved people to defeating communism, fascism and imperialism and keeping peace in the Cold War and battling terrorism today, veterans have accomplished remarkably great things in our nation’s history.”

Adkins, one of only 74 living Medal of Honor recipients, talked about being drafted into the Army when he dropped out of college. He ended up re-enlisting and joining the Special Forces. He was one of only 3 percent who made it through the Special Forces training, he said.

“I don’t know whether I was fortunate or unfortunate,” he joked. “I just had too much pride to quit.”

In 1963, Adkins received orders to go to South Vietnam. “I didn’t know where South Vietnam was, but I found out the hard way,” he said.

During his second tour in 1966, Adkins distinguished himself during a 38-hour, close-combat battle against North Vietnamese Army forces during the Battle of A Shau. With his camp under heavy attack, Adkins was credited with killing 135-175 enemy soldiers as he helped evacuate wounded U.S. soldiers. He led others in escaping while being pursued by the Viet Cong, and a 400-pound Indonesian tiger, as they made their way through the jungle.

“The North Vietnamese soldiers were more afraid of the tiger than they were of us,” Adkins said. “That gave us room to get away.”

Manning a mortar and rifle, Adkins fought off waves of attacks from the Viet Cong, suffering 18 wounds to his body, according to Army records. He initially was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1967, but decades later it was determined he deserved the Medal of Honor. President Barack Obama presented it to him in 2014.

As a Special Forces intelligence officer, Adkins served in at least 77 countries. One of his missions was to train a group in an African country to overthrow their government, but he soon discovered that another Special Forces group was training the government troops. Either the higher-ups in the government didn’t know they were supporting both sides, or they didn’t care, he said.

Adkins said one of his main purposes now is to give back. He has created a foundation that provides scholarships for enlisted personnel who are transitioning out of the service and this year published a book called “A Tiger Among Us,” with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.

See more events taking place in Hoover during November to honor and support veterans.

More photos were added to this post at 12:11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9.