Story highlights Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins honored for his actions in Vietnam in 1966

Adkins was wounded 18 times during the battle for Camp A Shau

Adkins fought and evaded North Vietnamese troops for 86 hours before he was rescued

As many as 175 enemy troops killed, 18 wounds from enemy fire, 38 hours of battle, 48 hours evading the North Vietnamese troops in the bush -- and one tiger. Those are the numbers behind Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins' Medal of Honor , an award he received from President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony Monday.

Adkins of Opelika, Alabama, was honored for his actions in Vietnam's A Shau Valley more than 48 years ago. Then a 32-year-old sergeant first class, Adkins was among a handful of Americans working with troops of the South Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Group at Camp A Shau when the camp was attacked by a large North Vietnamese and Viet Cong force on March 9, 1966, according to an Army report

"Adkins rushed through intense enemy fire and manned a mortar position defending the camp," the Army report says. "He continued to mount a defense even while incurring wounds from several direct hits from enemy mortars. Upon learning that several soldiers were wounded near the center of camp, he temporarily turned the mortar over to another soldier, ran through exploding mortar rounds and dragged several comrades to safety. As the hostile fire subsided, Adkins exposed himself to sporadic sniper fire and carried his wounded comrades to a more secure position."

Later, under enemy fire, some of it coming from South Vietnamese allies who had defected to the North during the battle, Adkins took wounded troops to an airstrip outside the camp for evacuation and drew enemy fire away from the evacuation aircraft. He went outside the camp again to retrieve supplies from an airdrop that fell into a minefield. And that was just day one.

"The bottom line is that it was just not my day to go," Adkins said in an Army interview at Fort Benning, Georgia, last week.

The fighting, and Adkins' heroism, continued in the early morning of March 10 when the North Vietnamese hit the camp with their main attack, according to the Army report.

JUST WATCHED He killed up to 175 enemy troops Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH He killed up to 175 enemy troops 04:52

Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor U.S. President Barack Obama presents Navy SEAL Edward Byers with the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House on Monday, February 29. Byers received the medal for his role in rescuing an American civilian being held hostage by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Click through to see other Afghanistan veterans who have received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor in combat. Hide Caption 1 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Obama presents a Medal of Honor to retired Army Capt. Florent A. Groberg in November. Groberg was severely injured when he tried to push a suicide bomber away from his patrol in August 2012. Hide Caption 2 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan J. Pitts receives the Medal of Honor in July for his actions during a battle in Afghanistan in 2008. According to the Army, Pitts launched grenade after grenade under a hail of enemy gunfire as comrades at other nearby posts fell. He also asked other soldiers to fire at his position to prevent the enemy from gaining ground. Hide Caption 3 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Retired Marine Cpl. Kyle Carpenter shakes hands with Obama as he receives the Medal of Honor on June 19. While serving in Afghanistan, Carpenter used his body to shield a fellow Marine from a grenade blast on November 21, 2010. Hide Caption 4 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Army Sgt. Kyle White receives the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House in May. He was recognized for repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire in Afghanistan while trying to save the lives of fellow soldiers in November 2007. Hide Caption 5 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Obama gives former Army Capt. William Swenson the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony in October 2013. Swenson was cited for "his exceptional leadership and stout resistance against the enemy during six hours of continuous fighting" in 2009, according to the Army. Hide Caption 6 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Army Staff Sgt. Ty M. Carter, left, watches as Obama greets family members of fallen service members after Carter was awarded the Medal of Honor in August 2013. Carter was cited for his actions during the October 3, 2009, defense of Command Outpost Keating in Afghanistan, including "running through a hail of enemy rocket propelled grenade and machine gun fire to rescue a critically wounded comrade." Hide Caption 7 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Obama presents the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha at the White House in February 2013. Wounded early in the battle at Command Outpost Keating on October 3, 2009, Romesha "continually exposed himself to heavy enemy fire as he moved confidently about the battlefield engaging and destroying multiple enemy targets," according to the Army. Hide Caption 8 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Obama awards the Medal of Honor to Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer in September 2011. In fighting at Gangjal, Afghanistan, on September 8, 2009, while manning a gun truck, "Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area," his citation said. Hide Caption 9 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Obama walks with Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry, who received the Medal of Honor in July 2011. Petry was cited for his actions during a battle in Paktya province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2008, which included picking up an enemy grenade thrown at him and fellow soldiers. As he was about to throw it away, the grenade exploded and blew off his right hand, according to his citation. Hide Caption 10 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Obama applauds after presenting the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta in November 2010. Cited for his actions in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, in October 2007, Guinta was the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Hide Caption 11 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Phil and Maureen Miller receive the Medal of Honor on behalf of their son, Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, in October 2010. The soldier was cited for engaging more than 100 enemy fighters in the Gowardesh Valley, Afghanistan, on January 25, 2008. Miller killed 10 of the enemy and wounded dozens more before being mortally wounded by enemy fire. Hide Caption 12 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor Paul and Janet Monti receive the Medal of Honor for their son, Army Sgt. First Class Jared C. Monti, in September 2009. Monti was killed June 21, 2006, in Nuristan province, Afghanistan, while attempting to rescue one of his fellow soldiers and fighting off an attack from insurgents. Hide Caption 13 of 14 Photos: Afghanistan vets receive Medal of Honor President George W. Bush presents the Medal of Honor to Daniel and Maureen Murphy, parents of Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, in October 2007. Murphy, a Navy SEAL, was killed June 28, 2005, when his four-man team was assaulted by 30 to 40 enemy fighters. Murphy exposed himself to repeated enemy fire while trying to radio for help for his besieged team, his citation said. Hide Caption 14 of 14

"Within two hours, Sergeant First Class Adkins was the only defender firing a mortar weapon. When all mortar rounds were expended, Adkins began placing effective rifle fire upon enemy as they infiltrated the camp perimeter and assaulted his position. Despite receiving additional wounds from enemy rounds exploding on his position, Adkins fought off relentless waves of attacking North Vietnamese soldiers," the Army report says.

After falling back to a smaller bunker in Camp A Shau, Adkins killed more enemy troops with small arms fire, destroyed equipment and classified documents to prevent them from getting into North Vietnamese hands, and led a group of soldiers in digging their way out of the rear of the bunker and escaping the besieged camp.

But Adkins' ordeal was not over. Because he was carrying a wounded comrade, he and his small group couldn't get to the evacuation helicopters sent to pick up the battle's survivors. The band faded into the jungle, avoiding their North Vietnamese pursuers for 48 hours.

And that's where the tiger comes in.

"The North Vietnamese soldiers had us surrounded on a little hilltop and everything started getting kind of quiet," Adkins is quoted as saying in an Army report. "We could look around and all at once, all we could see were eyes going around us. It was a tiger that stalked us that night. We were all bloody and in this jungle, the tiger stalked us and the North Vietnamese soldiers were more afraid of the tiger than they were of us. So, they backed off some and we were (able to escape)."

Helicopters rescued Adkins and the rest of his group on March 12.

The scene in Camp A Shau, Vietnam, after the battle in March 1966.

The Army says Adkins killed 135 to 175 enemy soldiers during the Camp A Shau battle. He suffered 18 wounds during the 86-hour ordeal.

Forty-eight years later, Adkins doesn't cite those numbers but two others.

"I'm just a keeper of the medal for those other 16 (U.S. troops) who were in the battle, especially the five who didn't make it," he told Army News Service

"I can tell you every man who was there and the five who lost their lives. I can tell you how that happened. It diminishes, but it does not go away," Adkins said.

And he remembers the South Vietnamese who stuck by his side.

"There were about 410 indigenous Civilian Irregular Defense Group soldiers there with us, and of those, only about 122 survived, and most of those were wounded. It was a horrible, horrible battle. There was valor on all sides, not only from the Americans, but from the CIDG soldiers also," he's quoted as saying in an Army report.

Others to receive honor

Spc. Donald Paul Sloat is credited with shielding comrades from a grenade near Danang, Vietnam, in January 1970.

Honored with Adkins at the White House ceremony was one other soldier, posthumously.

Spc. Donald P. Sloat was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in using his body to shield comrades from a grenade blast near Danang, Vietnam, in January 1970.

Additionally, the White House has announced one more Medal of Honor recipient: From the Civil War, 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing, who held out against Confederate troops during Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863, part of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Cushing manned the last serviceable Union artillery battery during the Confederate assault, which came within 100 yards of his position. He was killed by Confederate gunfire.

"His actions made it possible for the Union Army to successfully repulse the Confederate assault," a White House statement said.

A ceremony for the presentation of Cushing's honor has yet to be announced, the White House said.