WWII vet receives Purple Heart after 61 years

By Dena Libner

On Feb. 19, 1945, Brownfield Selectman Irving Potter invaded the volcanic island of Iwo Jima along with 110,000 other Marine troops. That same day, enemy fire sprayed his neck, arms and right side of his body with shrapnel, and he was transported to a U.S hospital ship off the island. He returned to the Japanese island on Feb. 22. Exactly 61 years after Potter's participation in the invasion of Iwo Jima, he was awarded a Purple Heart by Maine 2nd District Congressman Mike Michaud. The ceremony took place Feb. 21 in Brownfield Town Hall before town officials, friends and family. "I want to say that it's unfortunate you had to wait so long for this, but I'm very pleased to meet so many of your friends and family," Michaud told Potter before pinning the Purple Heart to his shirt pocket.Potter, 81, received four medals besides the Purple Heart, which is awarded to troops wounded or killed in combat while serving the United States military: the Bronze Star (the fourth highest U.S. military award for bravery and heroism), the Asiatic Pacific Medal, the American Presidential Unit Citation and the American Victory Medal."I want to make sure our veterans get the care the deserve, and I appreciate everything you've done for our country," Michaud said. "It's because of you that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to enjoy the liberties of this country."Potter, who has lived in Brownfield for over 30 years, was in the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima and a member of the 28th Marine Regiment the same regiment as the men who famously raised the American flag on the peak of Mount Suribachi. He went overseas with the Marine Corps in 1944 and was part of the occupation of Japan. He returned to his family in Quincy, Mass., in 1946 and stayed in the reserve services. He was called to serve in the Korean War in 1950, and returned home to his wife and two children in 1953. Receiving the five medals, Potter said, was less a validation of the decade he spent in the Marine Corp. than an assurance that his grandchildren will remember World War II and the 295,000 American troops (and 62 million civilians and troops worldwide) who were killed. "My children and grandchildren will have a remembrance of how bad this war was. That should never be forgotten," Potter said. "Hundreds of thousand of people died. America can't forget it."I don't like to talk about the war," he went on. "Those things that you have to do, you have to do. It was a bad, bad time over there. It was a terrible war, let's put it that way."Many retired troops who served in World War II still haven't received their medals. The delay, Potter speculated, is due to the haste with which U.S. soldiers were discharged during the Allied force occupation of Japan. "Not all the medals were given out because people had to go after them, and most of us just forgot about it and didn't get them," Potter explained. He received his long-overdue medals after mentioned them to Michaud, who "went to work to present them to me."Reporter Dena Libner can be contacted at dena@conwaydailysun.com.