Captain Clayton Lee Adamkavicius, born on April 6, 1963, was a dedicated serviceman whose military career spanned two decades and multiple branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. A native of California, he began his service in 1986 by enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed in Guam and at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. After five years, he transitioned to the Nevada National Guard in 1990, starting as an E4. Demonstrating leadership and commitment, he attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1992.

In 1999, Adamkavicius relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, and joined the Kentucky Army National Guard. He was assigned to Headquarters Company, 149th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division. His service included multiple deployments: in 2003, he commanded Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor, during Operation Joint Forge at Eagle Base in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina; a subsequent deployment to Bosnia in 2004 saw him serving with Headquarters Company, 149th Brigade.

Tragically, on April 21, 2006, while training Afghan soldiers in the Dihrawud district of Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan, Captain Adamkavicius was mortally wounded by small arms fire during an investigation of an anti-coalition weapons cache. He was 43 years old. At the time of his passing, he was the highest-ranking Kentucky National Guard soldier to have lost his life in combat during the global war on terror. He is survived by his wife, father, and a daughter residing in Nevada. Captain Adamkavicius was laid to rest at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.