Son of Olive Cleo Morton and Joseph Manuel Potter. Married to Eunice Yoakem on 22 Jul 1933 in Chase Co, KS.
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL, January 14, 2011
Lost dog tags find way home to Kansas
French return WWI ID to El Dorado family
by Jan Biles
COTTONWOOD FALLS — Dog tags that a Chase County man lost while fighting in France during World War I have been returned to his family.
Dale Potter, 75, of El Dorado, received the dog tags of his father, Pvt. Kent Potter, during a ceremony Thursday at the Chase County Historical Museum in Cottonwood Falls.
"Dad lost his dog tags, but he got to come home," Potter said. "Thousands lost their lives (during the war)."
The story of how the dog tags were returned begins in Liverdun Lorraine, France, where Michael Toussaint and fellow countryman Jean Claude Fonderflick were using metal detectors to search for artifacts on WWI battlefields. Among the items they have recovered are dog tags for five American soldiers — one set carrying the name of Kent Potter.
Instead of selling the dog tags on eBay, Toussaint and Fonderflick wanted to return them to the soldiers' families as a way to honor the sacrifices they made to help France during the war.
"It's amazing after 94 years the people in France still appreciate what the United States and the Allies did for them at that time," Potter said.
Toussaint and Fonderflick contacted Rita Drake, of El Paso, Ill., who they met when they returned dog tags belonging to her grandfather. Earlier this year, Drake also helped the men return dog tags to a family in Portage, Wis.
Carla Gallmiester, director of the Chase County Historical Museum, said Drake contacted her in early December to verify if the dog tags were those of Kent Potter, who grew up on a farm southwest of Cottonwood Falls and enlisted in the Army in June 1917 at age 24.
Gallmiester then contacted Shirley Lincoln, a niece of Kent Potter who still lived in Cottonwood Falls. Lincoln, in turn, called Dale Potter to tell him about the men in France and the dog tags.
With the help of Cottonwood Falls attorney and retired Col. Charles Rayl, Lincoln was able to track down Kent Potter's discharge papers at the Register of Deeds Office at the Chase County Courthouse. The papers included Potter's identification number, which matched the series of digits on the dog tags found by the Frenchmen.
Toussaint then sent Lincoln the tags, which arrived in Cottonwood Falls on Dec. 22.
Kent Potter served in Unit 139, 134th Infantry Division, Company M, and trained stateside until April 24, 1918, when he boarded a ship to Liverpool, England, Rayl said during the ceremony. He was in England for three days before boarding another ship to France.
Potter arrived in Liverdun somewhere between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 and went on to fight at Argonne, Verdun, and other locations.
Dale Potter said his father was a wagoner who helped move supplies using a mule or a horse.
"One time, he was moving supplies and the Germans started shelling. There was mustard gas in the shells," he said. "He lost his helmet when he was getting his gas mask on."
The elder Potter was able to put his helmet back on, but his head had already started to burn from the mustard gas. Later in life, his father would quip that it was the mustard gas that caused his baldness.
Potter family lore also includes a story about Potter losing his dog tags while putting his gas mask on his mule during a mustard gas attack. The tale goes that the country-boy-turned-soldier figured if his mule lived, he also would survive the war.
Although Dale Potter said he couldn't verify the mule story, what was true was his father's health being affected by the mustard gas he breathed while fighting in France. He was discharged from the Army in May 1919 and suffered from emphysema until his death at age 73 in 1963.
After the war, Kent Potter returned to the Flint Hills where he raised cattle and grew crops in Chase and Butler counties. He married and had one child.
Dale Potter, who worked at the Texaco refinery in El Dorado before his retirement, said his father's dog tags will be on loan to the Chase County Historical Museum for a while and then take their place among his family's heirlooms.∼Potter, a native of Chase County, Kansas, was a member of Unit 139, of the 134th Infantry Division, Company M, U. S. Army. He served in France as a mule cart driver hauling supplies in France. Potter family lore tells a tale of the soldier loosing the tag during a mustard gas attack when he put his gas mask on his mule. Potter suffered from emphysema for the rest of his life.
After 94 years, a World War I dog tag returns home to Chase County from Liverdun Lorraine, France (that is 1918) this would make Kent born abt 1898 or at least 1900.
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL, January 14, 2011
Lost dog tags find way home to Kansas
French return WWI ID to El Dorado family
by Jan Biles
COTTONWOOD FALLS — Dog tags that a Chase County man lost while fighting in France during World War I have been returned to his family.
Dale Potter, 75, of El Dorado, received the dog tags of his father, Pvt. Kent Potter, during a ceremony Thursday at the Chase County Historical Museum in Cottonwood Falls.
"Dad lost his dog tags, but he got to come home," Potter said. "Thousands lost their lives (during the war)."
The story of how the dog tags were returned begins in Liverdun Lorraine, France, where Michael Toussaint and fellow countryman Jean Claude Fonderflick were using metal detectors to search for artifacts on WWI battlefields. Among the items they have recovered are dog tags for five American soldiers — one set carrying the name of Kent Potter.
Instead of selling the dog tags on eBay, Toussaint and Fonderflick wanted to return them to the soldiers' families as a way to honor the sacrifices they made to help France during the war.
"It's amazing after 94 years the people in France still appreciate what the United States and the Allies did for them at that time," Potter said.
Toussaint and Fonderflick contacted Rita Drake, of El Paso, Ill., who they met when they returned dog tags belonging to her grandfather. Earlier this year, Drake also helped the men return dog tags to a family in Portage, Wis.
Carla Gallmiester, director of the Chase County Historical Museum, said Drake contacted her in early December to verify if the dog tags were those of Kent Potter, who grew up on a farm southwest of Cottonwood Falls and enlisted in the Army in June 1917 at age 24.
Gallmiester then contacted Shirley Lincoln, a niece of Kent Potter who still lived in Cottonwood Falls. Lincoln, in turn, called Dale Potter to tell him about the men in France and the dog tags.
With the help of Cottonwood Falls attorney and retired Col. Charles Rayl, Lincoln was able to track down Kent Potter's discharge papers at the Register of Deeds Office at the Chase County Courthouse. The papers included Potter's identification number, which matched the series of digits on the dog tags found by the Frenchmen.
Toussaint then sent Lincoln the tags, which arrived in Cottonwood Falls on Dec. 22.
Kent Potter served in Unit 139, 134th Infantry Division, Company M, and trained stateside until April 24, 1918, when he boarded a ship to Liverpool, England, Rayl said during the ceremony. He was in England for three days before boarding another ship to France.
Potter arrived in Liverdun somewhere between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 and went on to fight at Argonne, Verdun, and other locations.
Dale Potter said his father was a wagoner who helped move supplies using a mule or a horse.
"One time, he was moving supplies and the Germans started shelling. There was mustard gas in the shells," he said. "He lost his helmet when he was getting his gas mask on."
The elder Potter was able to put his helmet back on, but his head had already started to burn from the mustard gas. Later in life, his father would quip that it was the mustard gas that caused his baldness.
Potter family lore also includes a story about Potter losing his dog tags while putting his gas mask on his mule during a mustard gas attack. The tale goes that the country-boy-turned-soldier figured if his mule lived, he also would survive the war.
Although Dale Potter said he couldn't verify the mule story, what was true was his father's health being affected by the mustard gas he breathed while fighting in France. He was discharged from the Army in May 1919 and suffered from emphysema until his death at age 73 in 1963.
After the war, Kent Potter returned to the Flint Hills where he raised cattle and grew crops in Chase and Butler counties. He married and had one child.
Dale Potter, who worked at the Texaco refinery in El Dorado before his retirement, said his father's dog tags will be on loan to the Chase County Historical Museum for a while and then take their place among his family's heirlooms.∼Potter, a native of Chase County, Kansas, was a member of Unit 139, of the 134th Infantry Division, Company M, U. S. Army. He served in France as a mule cart driver hauling supplies in France. Potter family lore tells a tale of the soldier loosing the tag during a mustard gas attack when he put his gas mask on his mule. Potter suffered from emphysema for the rest of his life.
After 94 years, a World War I dog tag returns home to Chase County from Liverdun Lorraine, France (that is 1918) this would make Kent born abt 1898 or at least 1900.
Son of Olive Cleo Morton and Joseph Manuel Potter. Married to Eunice Yoakem on 22 Jul 1933 in Chase Co, KS.
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL, January 14, 2011
Lost dog tags find way home to Kansas
French return WWI ID to El Dorado family
by Jan Biles
COTTONWOOD FALLS — Dog tags that a Chase County man lost while fighting in France during World War I have been returned to his family.
Dale Potter, 75, of El Dorado, received the dog tags of his father, Pvt. Kent Potter, during a ceremony Thursday at the Chase County Historical Museum in Cottonwood Falls.
"Dad lost his dog tags, but he got to come home," Potter said. "Thousands lost their lives (during the war)."
The story of how the dog tags were returned begins in Liverdun Lorraine, France, where Michael Toussaint and fellow countryman Jean Claude Fonderflick were using metal detectors to search for artifacts on WWI battlefields. Among the items they have recovered are dog tags for five American soldiers — one set carrying the name of Kent Potter.
Instead of selling the dog tags on eBay, Toussaint and Fonderflick wanted to return them to the soldiers' families as a way to honor the sacrifices they made to help France during the war.
"It's amazing after 94 years the people in France still appreciate what the United States and the Allies did for them at that time," Potter said.
Toussaint and Fonderflick contacted Rita Drake, of El Paso, Ill., who they met when they returned dog tags belonging to her grandfather. Earlier this year, Drake also helped the men return dog tags to a family in Portage, Wis.
Carla Gallmiester, director of the Chase County Historical Museum, said Drake contacted her in early December to verify if the dog tags were those of Kent Potter, who grew up on a farm southwest of Cottonwood Falls and enlisted in the Army in June 1917 at age 24.
Gallmiester then contacted Shirley Lincoln, a niece of Kent Potter who still lived in Cottonwood Falls. Lincoln, in turn, called Dale Potter to tell him about the men in France and the dog tags.
With the help of Cottonwood Falls attorney and retired Col. Charles Rayl, Lincoln was able to track down Kent Potter's discharge papers at the Register of Deeds Office at the Chase County Courthouse. The papers included Potter's identification number, which matched the series of digits on the dog tags found by the Frenchmen.
Toussaint then sent Lincoln the tags, which arrived in Cottonwood Falls on Dec. 22.
Kent Potter served in Unit 139, 134th Infantry Division, Company M, and trained stateside until April 24, 1918, when he boarded a ship to Liverpool, England, Rayl said during the ceremony. He was in England for three days before boarding another ship to France.
Potter arrived in Liverdun somewhere between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 and went on to fight at Argonne, Verdun, and other locations.
Dale Potter said his father was a wagoner who helped move supplies using a mule or a horse.
"One time, he was moving supplies and the Germans started shelling. There was mustard gas in the shells," he said. "He lost his helmet when he was getting his gas mask on."
The elder Potter was able to put his helmet back on, but his head had already started to burn from the mustard gas. Later in life, his father would quip that it was the mustard gas that caused his baldness.
Potter family lore also includes a story about Potter losing his dog tags while putting his gas mask on his mule during a mustard gas attack. The tale goes that the country-boy-turned-soldier figured if his mule lived, he also would survive the war.
Although Dale Potter said he couldn't verify the mule story, what was true was his father's health being affected by the mustard gas he breathed while fighting in France. He was discharged from the Army in May 1919 and suffered from emphysema until his death at age 73 in 1963.
After the war, Kent Potter returned to the Flint Hills where he raised cattle and grew crops in Chase and Butler counties. He married and had one child.
Dale Potter, who worked at the Texaco refinery in El Dorado before his retirement, said his father's dog tags will be on loan to the Chase County Historical Museum for a while and then take their place among his family's heirlooms.∼Potter, a native of Chase County, Kansas, was a member of Unit 139, of the 134th Infantry Division, Company M, U. S. Army. He served in France as a mule cart driver hauling supplies in France. Potter family lore tells a tale of the soldier loosing the tag during a mustard gas attack when he put his gas mask on his mule. Potter suffered from emphysema for the rest of his life.
After 94 years, a World War I dog tag returns home to Chase County from Liverdun Lorraine, France (that is 1918) this would make Kent born abt 1898 or at least 1900.
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL, January 14, 2011
Lost dog tags find way home to Kansas
French return WWI ID to El Dorado family
by Jan Biles
COTTONWOOD FALLS — Dog tags that a Chase County man lost while fighting in France during World War I have been returned to his family.
Dale Potter, 75, of El Dorado, received the dog tags of his father, Pvt. Kent Potter, during a ceremony Thursday at the Chase County Historical Museum in Cottonwood Falls.
"Dad lost his dog tags, but he got to come home," Potter said. "Thousands lost their lives (during the war)."
The story of how the dog tags were returned begins in Liverdun Lorraine, France, where Michael Toussaint and fellow countryman Jean Claude Fonderflick were using metal detectors to search for artifacts on WWI battlefields. Among the items they have recovered are dog tags for five American soldiers — one set carrying the name of Kent Potter.
Instead of selling the dog tags on eBay, Toussaint and Fonderflick wanted to return them to the soldiers' families as a way to honor the sacrifices they made to help France during the war.
"It's amazing after 94 years the people in France still appreciate what the United States and the Allies did for them at that time," Potter said.
Toussaint and Fonderflick contacted Rita Drake, of El Paso, Ill., who they met when they returned dog tags belonging to her grandfather. Earlier this year, Drake also helped the men return dog tags to a family in Portage, Wis.
Carla Gallmiester, director of the Chase County Historical Museum, said Drake contacted her in early December to verify if the dog tags were those of Kent Potter, who grew up on a farm southwest of Cottonwood Falls and enlisted in the Army in June 1917 at age 24.
Gallmiester then contacted Shirley Lincoln, a niece of Kent Potter who still lived in Cottonwood Falls. Lincoln, in turn, called Dale Potter to tell him about the men in France and the dog tags.
With the help of Cottonwood Falls attorney and retired Col. Charles Rayl, Lincoln was able to track down Kent Potter's discharge papers at the Register of Deeds Office at the Chase County Courthouse. The papers included Potter's identification number, which matched the series of digits on the dog tags found by the Frenchmen.
Toussaint then sent Lincoln the tags, which arrived in Cottonwood Falls on Dec. 22.
Kent Potter served in Unit 139, 134th Infantry Division, Company M, and trained stateside until April 24, 1918, when he boarded a ship to Liverpool, England, Rayl said during the ceremony. He was in England for three days before boarding another ship to France.
Potter arrived in Liverdun somewhere between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 and went on to fight at Argonne, Verdun, and other locations.
Dale Potter said his father was a wagoner who helped move supplies using a mule or a horse.
"One time, he was moving supplies and the Germans started shelling. There was mustard gas in the shells," he said. "He lost his helmet when he was getting his gas mask on."
The elder Potter was able to put his helmet back on, but his head had already started to burn from the mustard gas. Later in life, his father would quip that it was the mustard gas that caused his baldness.
Potter family lore also includes a story about Potter losing his dog tags while putting his gas mask on his mule during a mustard gas attack. The tale goes that the country-boy-turned-soldier figured if his mule lived, he also would survive the war.
Although Dale Potter said he couldn't verify the mule story, what was true was his father's health being affected by the mustard gas he breathed while fighting in France. He was discharged from the Army in May 1919 and suffered from emphysema until his death at age 73 in 1963.
After the war, Kent Potter returned to the Flint Hills where he raised cattle and grew crops in Chase and Butler counties. He married and had one child.
Dale Potter, who worked at the Texaco refinery in El Dorado before his retirement, said his father's dog tags will be on loan to the Chase County Historical Museum for a while and then take their place among his family's heirlooms.∼Potter, a native of Chase County, Kansas, was a member of Unit 139, of the 134th Infantry Division, Company M, U. S. Army. He served in France as a mule cart driver hauling supplies in France. Potter family lore tells a tale of the soldier loosing the tag during a mustard gas attack when he put his gas mask on his mule. Potter suffered from emphysema for the rest of his life.
After 94 years, a World War I dog tag returns home to Chase County from Liverdun Lorraine, France (that is 1918) this would make Kent born abt 1898 or at least 1900.
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