• July 19, 1924 – March 29, 1945
• Covington, Tennessee
• Liberal Arts – 1942-1944
• Private First Class – Army
• KIA while serving in Aschaffenburg, Germany
  • Company L, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
• Munford Cemetery in Tipton County, Tennessee

William Rodney Atkins Jr (July 19, 1945 – March 29, 1945) was born in Covington, Tennessee. He entered as a student at the University of Tennessee in 1942 and had just completed his first year of college when he enlisted in the United States Army. Deployed as a Private First Class, Atkins served in Company L in 3rd Battalion of the 157th Infantry Regiment in the 45th Infantry Division. The 157th Regiment and the 45th Infantry Division as a whole saw some of the fiercest fighting in the European Theater. At the start of 1945, the 157th smashed through the Siegfried Line and was making its way into Central Germany. PFC William R. Atkins Jr. was killed in action on March 29th, 1945 outside of Aschaffenburg in Bavaria, Germany just before the 157th succeeding in crossing the Danube River. He is buried at Munford Cemetery in Tipton County, Tennessee.

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