Golden Adkins was born in Branchland, Lincoln Co., West Virginia on 10 October, 1918 to Parker Adkins and (Rosa) Martha Smith Adkins. He graduated from Guyan Valley High School in West Virginia and enlisted in the U.S. Naval reserve on 6 August, 1942 at Huntington, service number 6581249. He served as an apprentice seaman on the USS Pollux and had only been on duty two months when the vessel was lost in a storm off the coast of Newfoundland on 18 February 1942. He "lost his life in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country" and was awarded a WWII Victory medal posthumously.
