Gene Potter: From farm to Vietnam and back

By Charlie Souhrada, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran Interview Volunteer

Born on November 26, 1945, in Sandwich, Illinois, Gene Potter grew up on a family farm near Sheridan, part of a farming heritage that stretched back to 1841. Nearly 81 years later, he’s back where it all began and living life to the utmost. 

The youngest of three boys and a girl, Gene was raised by his parents, John and Ruth, in an environment where hard work was simply a way of life. “Growing up on the farm, I was told to get the job done and we’d do it,” he says. 

The family farm produced a little of everything including crops, livestock, chickens, sheep, hogs, and even tomatoes for Campbell’s Soup. From the age of five, Gene was already helping with chores, feeding chickens and collecting eggs under his mother’s direction.

Gene attended the small two-room Millington Grade School before moving into the Sandwich school system and later graduating from Sandwich High School in 1963. While farm work filled much of his childhood, baseball was his passion. He played organized baseball for 10 years, progressing through Little League, Pony League, and Junior Legion teams until age 18. Summers often found him mowing hay, assisting neighboring farmers, or helping a local beekeeper harvest honey.

“I did a lot of mowing and baling hay all summer long, it was interesting,” he laughs.  

After high school, Gene worked at grain elevators and fertilizer facilities while attending college. He initially enrolled at Bradley University with plans to study engineering but later shifted his focus to agricultural supply studies at Joliet Junior College, graduating while holding down a job at the grain elevator and helping on the family farm. 

During this period, he met Mary Ellen, who was working as a car hop at the local Dog n Suds, and she became his lifelong partner. Their relationship began in 1967, just as his immediate future was about to change dramatically. Later that year, as Gene was working his night job at the grain elevator, Mary Ellen visited him at work with a fateful piece of mail. “It was a letter from my ‘friends and neighbors’ wanting me to join,” he says. “I still have that letter.” 

In December 1967, Gene was inducted into the Army and sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri., for basic training. “We were called ‘meatheads,’” he remembers. “They broke us down and built us back up.” Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Lousiana, followed. Though he was raised on a farm and no stranger to hard work, military life challenged him in new ways. His leadership abilities emerged early, and he served as a squad leader during training.

Gene knew Vietnam was in his cards, “It was definite,” he says. After training, he traveled through Oakland, California, for final paperwork and gear before flying to Southeast Asia and Vietnam. There, he was assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, where he served in a mechanized infantry unit based at Bearcat Base, near Bien Hoa in southern Vietnam. Most nights were spent in the field rather than on base, traveling through the jungle atop armored personnel carriers, conducting patrols, convoy security missions, and bridge protection operations.

The realities of combat quickly affected him. He arrived shortly after his company had suffered severe casualties, making the dangers of war immediately clear. As his tour progressed, Gene advanced from Private First Class to Sergeant within six months. 

During his time in-country, Gene endured malaria, survived wounds from shrapnel, and experienced the constant uncertainty faced by infantry soldiers in combat zones. Through it all, letters from Mary Ellen were a lifeline. The couple exchanged correspondence regularly while counting down the days until they could be reunited.

Gene’s service earned significant recognition. Among his decorations were a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star with “V” device for valor, additional Bronze Stars for service, an Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

After returning home, Gene rewarded himself by buying a Ford Mustang Mach 1 and marrying Mary Ellen on June 28, 1969. Soon after, the newlyweds relocated to Kansas where Gene completed a six-month assignment at Fort Riley, Kan., which satisfied his military commitment, and the couple returned to the Sheridan area.  

Back home for good, Gene built a successful career in agricultural supply and retail management, working for Tractor Supply Company and later Farm Service, where he spent much of his professional life. After retiring from FS, he worked at the Illinois National Guard facility in Marseilles, performing maintenance and groundskeeping duties until 2011.  

Today, Gene and Mary Ellen live on family land close to where his story began. It’s roughly the same place they raised three sons – Chris, Andrew and Matt – and where they now enjoy five grandchildren. “We spent many years watching our sons play sports,” he says. “Now we enjoy watching our grandkids doing the same things!” 

In retirement, Gene remains active as a member of the VFW, the American Legion, and the Sandwich Historical Society. He is also the caretaker of the 112-acre family farm, which includes 60 acres of timberland and a log home the couple built years ago, preserving a legacy built over generations. As part of his military service legacy, Gene and a friend wrote a book about his Vietnam service, “The Whole Nine Yards,” to help answer the question “What did you do in the war, Daddy?” 

From farm fields to the battlefields of Vietnam and back home again, Gene Potter’s life is a testimony to duty, resilience, and commitment.  “The Army changes your whole life,” he says. “It gave me confidence.” 

Welcome home, Gene! Thank you for your service!