Two Southeast Missouri men among 2025 Missouri Veterans Hall of Fame inductees

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., (KBSI) — Two southeast Missouri men are among the 2025 inductees into the Missouri Veterans Hall of Fame, an organization that honors Missourians who served in the military and went on to make significant contributions in their communities.

The induction ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. The event is open to the public.

This year’s inductees include:

• Frank Robinson, Perryville — U.S. Army, 1969-71. Robinson served as an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam before being injured and sent home. He later took over his family’s plumbing business, expanding it into Robinson Construction Company. Robinson has been active in veteran causes, serving as a founding member and director of Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial and chair of the Love Our Veterans Committee. He also served as a Perryville alderman and on the city’s planning commission.
• Roger Brooks Sherman, Sikeston — U.S. Navy, 1952-54. Sherman served on the radar crew of the U.S.S. Kirkpatrick during the Korean War. After his service, he worked as a teacher, coach and administrator for 38 years. He has been a longtime member of the Sikeston Kiwanis Club, serving as governor of the Missouri-Arkansas district, and has been active in improving education in Sikeston through school bond initiatives.
• John Verle “Pete” Adkins, Wellsville — U.S. Navy, 1943-46. Adkins, a signalman in the Navy, went on to become one of the nation’s winningest high school football coaches at Jefferson City High School. After retiring from coaching, he raised more than $1 million for veterans, active-duty military and their families.
• Richard A. Heigert, Arnold — U.S. Army, 1966-94. Heigert served as an engineer and later a military intelligence officer. He spent nearly 40 years working at the Defense Mapping Agency and National Geospatial Agency. Following retirement, he became heavily involved in veterans’ organizations, including the Missouri Association of Veterans Organizations and the POW-MIA Museum at Jefferson Barracks.
• James M. Mayer, St. Louis — U.S. Army, 1968-70. Mayer, an infantryman with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam, lost both legs in a land mine explosion in 1969. He went on to a decades-long career advocating for veterans, including work with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Wounded Warrior Project.
• Clifton M. Smart III, Springfield — U.S. Army, 1986-90. Smart served as a Judge Advocate General before becoming president of Missouri State University in 2012. Under his leadership, MSU expanded programs and facilities while growing enrollment and funding. He has been active in supporting ROTC and community initiatives in Springfield.

In addition, an honorary induction will be given to General Maxwell Taylor, a Keytesville native who served in the U.S. Army from 1922 to 1959 and again from 1961 to 1964. As commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, Taylor parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, becoming the first Allied general officer to land in France that day.