Empire native dies in explosion in Afghanistan

Staff Sgt. Vinson Bryon Adkinson III was an Army Ranger with the 173rd Airborne Division based in Hamburg, Germany.

Hutto said Adkinson served multiple combat tours in Iraq and several more in Afghanistan.

"He felt like he was doing a lot of good," Hutto said. "He re-enlisted every time his time was up. He was so proud to be a Ranger. He always said if he was going to die, he wanted to do it with his boots on."

Hutto said he met Adkinson in sixth grade when Hutto moved to Empire. They became fast friends.

"When you move to a new town, it's tough to make new friends, but he took me under his wing from the beginning," Hutto said. "Even though he didn't have much, he would give you the shirt off his back."

Those good-natured qualities continued after he joined the Army.

"He would give the kids over there candy because he knew what it was like to be poor and not have much," Hutto said. "He was an all-around great person."

Hutto said he had heard few details about how his friend died, but he said he had heard several other soldiers from Adkinson's unit also were killed in the explosion.

Efforts to reach Adkinson's family were unsuccessful Thursday night.