Charles E. Potter

Charles E. Potter

Charles Edward Potter (born October 30, 1916 in Lapeer , Lapeer County , Michigan , †  November 23, 1979 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) who represented the state of Michigan in both chambers of Congress .

Military career

After attending the public schools in his home country, Charles Potter continued his education at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti , where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 1938 . He then served until 1942 as the director of a social welfare facility in Cheboygan County . After the United States entered World War II , he joined the US Army with the rank of private and was used as a soldier in the 28th  Infantry Division in the European theater of war. In 1945 he was seriously wounded in Colmar , whereupon both legs had to be amputated. The following year he officially retired with the rank of major .

Potter has been awarded the Silver Star twice as well as the Purple Heart and the French Croix de guerre . After the end of the war he was employed until 1947 as a professional reintegration officer for the Retraining and Reemployment Administration , a sub-agency of the US Department of Labor .

MP and Senator

His political career began when he entered the United States House of Representatives . On August 26, 1947, he was elected in the eleventh congressional electoral district of Michigan to succeed the late Frederick Van Ness Bradley , whereupon he was a member of the House of Representatives after two re-elections until November 4, 1952. On that day he took part in the by-election to the US Senate , which had become necessary after the death of Arthur H. Vandenberg . The Democrat Blair Moody , who also ran for election, was appointed acting successor to the Republican Senator . Potter won with 51.2 percent of the vote, Moody received 48.7 percent. In the simultaneous election for the following legislative period, which began on January 3, 1953, Potter also prevailed against Moody, with his lead here being a few percentage points less.

During his tenure as Senator, Potter was the only member of the Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities , a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations chaired by Joseph McCarthy . The committee dealt with crimes that were committed during the Korean War . In 1958 Potter ran for re-election, but was defeated by the Democrat Philip Hart , whereupon he had to leave the Senate on January 3, 1959.

After serving in Congress, Charles Potter served as an industrial advisor and manager on international security issues. In 1965 he published his memoir under the title "Days of shame", in which he referred to the conflict between Republicans and Democrats in the fight against Senator McCarthy. Potter was a close confidante of President Dwight D. Eisenhower during his tenure as Senator . He spent his retirement in Queenstown ( Maryland ); he died in November 1979 at the Walter Reed Military Hospital in Washington and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Web links

• Charles E. Potter in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Charles E. Potter in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Charles E. Potter: Korean War Atrocities (PDF). In: Senate Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities , US GPO, December 3, 1953. Retrieved April 2, 2010.