Raised under Montana big skies, Army Staff Sergeant Travis Adkins was born to be a soldier. Dedicated to being an infantry soldier. He fought in the 2003 Iraq invasion, came home, went to college. But it wasn't enough. He realized that the army was his calling. He deployed back to Iraq this time supporting the Army's Elite Delta Force. On June 1st, 2007, Staff Sergeant Atkins spotted two insurgents wearing explosive vests.
With his bare hands he pinned one to the ground absorbing the blasts. Sergeant Adkins lost his life but saved three others. His son Trevor was just 11 years old. My dad did something great, you know, it's not that he's gone. He did something fantastic and it needs to be remembered. And today he was, getting the nation's highest honor for his ultimate sacrifice.