Pfc. Tony J. Potter Jr., 20, of Okmulgee, Okla., died Sept. 9 in Paktia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 279 Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla. He was born to Tony and Yvonne (Draper) Potter Sr. His grandfather James Draper preceded him in death. Survivors include his wife Emily Yarbrough Potter, his parents, a sister Christy Potter Foley and her husband Keith of Okmulgee, a brother Dillon Potter of Okmlgee, a sister Sarah Potter of Okmulgee, paternal grandparents Emanuel and Laverne Potter of Okmulgee and his maternal grandmother Barbara Draper, Arenzville, IL. Potter joined the Oklahoma Guard in 2010 and was promoted to private first class in May. Pfc Potter was serving his first deployment and is the youngest Guard member to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pfc Potter was fatally wounded along with two of his fellow Guard members. PFC Potter and his wife Emily (Yarbrough) Potter were expecting their first child in the spring. Emily was a college student at NEO A&M at the time of the attack. The Okmulgee native was a 2010 graduate of Okmulgee High School. In school, he was an outstanding wrestler for Coach Jeff Pulliam's Bulldog mat program. In his senior bio, he listed his favorite memory at OHS as "me and ‘Bull' (Coach Pulliam) running at each other with medicine balls. I flew at least 10 feet ... great times!" Tony was also an outstanding football player. He played in the front line and worked hard to protect the quarterback and running backs. He was very proud of helping the Okmulgee Bulldogs qualify for the playoffs in his senior season at OHS. Just prior to his May graduation, he joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard in an April 2010 enlistment. He took the hard route, signing up to become an infantryman. Another big step was finding the love of his life in Emily Yarbrough. When it was time to propose to her, he enlisted the help of his editor friend at the Okmulgee Daily Times. Emily knew Tony Joe was in love with her and was going to ask her to marry him. However, she had no idea when or how he would pop the question. To spring the surprise trap, he brought the unsuspecting young lady to the editor's office with the idea he was getting only articles about his sports career. Once the cute couple sat down, he began telling how wonderful she was and how crazy he was about her.