Otis Francis Potts (October 8, 1923–April 25, 1996)

Norma Kendall Potts (December 12, 1925–March 6, 1993)

By Victoria Guild

Early Life: The Potts family in North Carolina

When Otis Francis Potts, later known as “Lucky” to those closest to him, was born in Perry, Florida, on October 8, 1923, his mother, Helen Merritt, was 19 years old and his father, Lester Potts, was 23. At this time, he would be the youngest of two boys, but he would soon become the second oldest among three brothers and a sister. 1 By 1930, the Potts family had relocated to Washington, North Carolina, possibly for employment. 2 North Carolina experienced a boom in the textile, factory, and construction businesses in the 1920s. 3

Military Service: Protecting the Fleet

Still living in North Carolina, Potts enlisted in Raleigh on September 19, 1941 at the age of seventeen. 4 After enlistment, Potts trained in Brooklyn, New York, until the Navy assigned him to an armed guard position on November 24, 1941. 5 Naval armed guards served alongside civilian sailors on various merchant, medical, and other logistical ships in World War II. This conflict required civilian merchant ships and the US Navy to work together because of the submarine threat. Compared to the 384 naval armed-merchant ships of World War I, the Navy manned 6,236 merchant ships in WWII, an armed fleet that dwarfed the U.S. Navy by nearly six times. 6 While wars are waged by front line soldiers, logisticians determine how food, ammunition, and medical supplies make it to the front lines to support their efforts, and Potts likely protected these supplies by manning, loading, or troubleshooting various onboard weaponry on the ships he sailed.

American Steam Merchant, Irénée Du Pont

Potts’ first assignment after his training was on the Irénée Du Pont, pictured left, a 6,125 ton merchant ship. During his time sailing on the Irénée Du Pont in 1942, Potts visited Karachi, Pakistan, Cape Town, South Africa, and Nuevitas, Cuba. His voyage to Cape Town and Karachi suggests that the Irénée Du Pont supplied vital aircraft components to Karachi Airfield, a major staging point for the US Air Force in the Pacific Theatre. His other voyages from New York to various United Kingdom locations suggest his ships supplied the Allied front in Europe. We also know that Potts served on the George Uhler, Henry G Costin, Bulkcrude, and four other ships. 7 On March 17, 1943, a German U-Boat sank Irénée Du Pont; thirteen people aboard the ship drowned. Potts may or may not have been aboard. Record place him on the Irénée Du Pont in late 1942, with his next record placing him on the George Uhler in late 1943, as seen here. 8

Passenger List, Irénée Du Pont, 1942

After returning from England, Potts was admitted to the hospital in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, after his rifle accidentally discharged and wounded his foot on December 15, 1944. Potts and his friends had taken the hunting trip to alleviate stress and spend some spare time between voyages. 9 Potts achieved the rate of Gunner’s Mate, Petty Officer 3rd Class, by the time of his discharge. The following year, at the age of twenty-three, Potts received his discharge papers from the Navy and he reported living unemployed in Burlington, North Carolina. 10

After Service: Otis and Norma in Florida

Potts wed Norma Kendall and lived in Fort Lauderdale, FL by 1962. 11 Norma was born in Buffalo, NY. She was the oldest of four children her father was an automobile salesman and her mother worked at home. 12 On January 11, 1963, Otis and Norma Potts welcomed a baby girl to their family at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, whom they named Renee Potts. 13 In 1993, Otis Potts became a widow when his wife Norma died on March 6. Norma passed at the age of 68 after working fifteen years at Pall Industrial Hydraulics Corporation in Fort Myers, Florida. 14 Potts had worked hard to become a skilled craftsman and general contractor after his service, and passed on April 26, 1996 in Fort Myers, FL. 15 Potts is memorialized in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL.

Endnotes

1 “Potts, Otis F. “Lucky”,” News Press (Fort Myers, FL), May 11, 1996. ; “1930 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed July 9, 2017),), entry for Otis Francis Potts, ED 7-26, Washington, Beaufort, North Carolina.

2 “1930 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed July 9, 2017),), entry for Otis Francis Potts, ED 7-26, Washington, Beaufort, North Carolina.

3 J. I. Hayes, South Carolina and the New Deal (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001) 71-74.

4 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7/9/2017), entry for Otis Francis Potts..

5 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7/9/2017), entry for Otis Francis Potts..

6 “Naval Armed Guard Service in World War II” Naval History and Heritage Command (published 6/23/07 accessed 7/9/2017) https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/naval-armed-guard-service-in-world-war-ii.html

7 “New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7/9/2017), entry for Otis Francis Potts.; “Potts, Otis F. “Lucky”,” News Press (Fort Myers, FL), May 11, 1996.

8 “Irénée Du Pont”. Uboat. (uboat.net : accessed July 10, 2017) http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/2790.html.; “New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed July 9, 2017), entry for Otis Francis Potts.

9 “Shoots Self in Foot,” Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA), Dec. 15, 1944

10 “U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7/9/2017), entry for Otis Potts.

11 “Couple are wed in chapel,” Fort Lauderdale News, April 26, 1962.

12 “1940 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7/9/2017), entry for Norma Irene Kendall. ED 64-538, Buffalo, Erie, New York.

13 “It’s A Girl’s World,” Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 11, 1963.

14 “Norma Kendall Potts,” News Press (Fort Myers, FL), Mar. 7, 1993.

15 “Potts, Otis F. “Lucky”,” News Press (Fort Myers, FL), May 11, 1996.

© 2017, University of Central Florida

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