Wilfred Adkins was born on February 13, 1912 in Key West, Monroe County, Florida. He was the son of William Madison Adkins and Minerva Smith Adkins Adkins. Wilfred served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a Private in the 1st Engineer Combat Battalion, 1st Infantry Division. He was killed during the invasion on Omaha Beach, France but was declared "Missing" on June 6, 1944 and is memorialized on Tablets of the Missing, Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.