Adrian Thompson Enfinger was born in Milton, Florida on October 26, 1923 to the union of Lewis Thompson Enfinger and Jessie Ora Steadham. The family was your typical farmers and owned their own home in the Wallace community of Santa Rosa County, Florida. After graduating from Chumuckla High School, he entered the US Army on February 27, 1944 and was assigned to Compnay “K” of the 318th Infantry Regiment with the 80th Infantry Division.
His division was sent to Europe on July 7, 1944 and landed on Utah Beach on August 3, 1944, two months after the famous D-Day landing. After intense fighting, the division took part in Patton’s Third Army dash across France, cutting through the towns of St. Mihiel, Chalons, and Commercy in pursuit of the retreating German Army until they ran out of fuel at the Seille River. Once they were resupplied, Enfinger and his 318th Infantry Regiment moved northward to attack the Germans at Luxembourg and Bastogne. By February 1945, the division had broken through the Siegfried Line and pursing the Germans to Kaiserlautern, Germany. It was here that
Private Enfinger met his fate when he was killed on March 16, 1945. His family received the government's dreaded telegram notifying them of their son’s tragic fate. He was buried temporarily in Europe along with his comrades while his family held memorial services in Milton on April 8, 1945. In April 1949 his body was disinterred and brought home and was buried in the Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery in Chumuckla, Florida. He was survived by his two brothers Floyd Quentin and Alvin Henry as well as three sisters. Floyd also served during the war with the US Navy where he spent the next twenty years. Both Floyd and Alvin passed away in 2013.
Pensacola News Journal Article 4-22-1945
Private Adrian Thompson Enfinger, KIA March 16, 1945, Germany
Private Enfinger's Grave in the Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery, Chumuckla, Florida