Name: William Joseph Potter, Jr.

Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force

Unit: 606th Air Commando Squadron

Date of Birth: 24 September 1935

Home City of Record: Ambridge PA

Date of Loss: 29 December 1967

Country of Loss: Laos

Loss Coordinates: 164900N 1060300E (XD125595)

Status (in 1973): Missing In Action

Category: 2

Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A26A

Other Personnel In Incident: Paul L. Foster, Carlos R. Cruz (both missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The Douglas A26 Invader was a twin-engine attack bomber with World War II service. In Vietnam, it served the French in the 1950's and also the U.S. in the early years of American involvement in Southeast Asia. In 1966, eight A26's were deployed to Nakhon Phanom to perform hunter-killer missions against truck convoys in southern Laos.

Capt. Carlos R. Cruz, pilot, Capt. William J. Potter Jr., co-pilot, and SSGT Paul L. Foster, crewmember, comprised the crew of an A26A Invader assigned a mission in Laos December 29, 1967. The three flew from Nakhon Phanom from the 606th Air Commando Squadron to a target area along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

 During the mission the aircraft was hit by enemy fire and was seen to crash. The last known location for Foster's plane was about 15 miles northwest of the city of Muang Xepone (Sepone) in Savannakhet Province. This is just about due west of the DMZ in Vietnam. No parachutes were seen, and no emergency radio beeper signals were heard by aircraft in the area.

A day or so before the Invader was shot down, Lao Premier Souvanna Phouma reported that North Vietnamese troops had started a general offensive against Lao government forces in southern Laos. North Vietnam denied this report on December 29th, the day the Invader was shot down.

The three men onboard the Invader were declared Missing in Action. The U.S. believes the enemy may know their fates. Unfortunately, although the Pathet Lao stated publicly that they held American prisoners, the U.S. never negotiated for their freedom. Consequently, no American held in Laos has ever been released.

The fates of the crew of the Invader remain unknown. They are among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in the "secret war" in Laos and never returned. There is ample reason to believe that the Vietnamese and/or the Communist Lao know what happened to Cruz, Potter and Foster on December 29, 1967.

 William J. Potter Jr. was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Carlos R. Cruz to the rank of Major and Paul L. Foster to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant during the period they were maintained missing

POW's Prayer

By Jean Ray and L. Vancil

Father,

Your own Son was a prisoner.

Condemned, he died for us.

Victorious, He returned to bring us the gift of life everlasting.

Comfort us now in our longing for the return of the Prisoners Of War and those Missing In Action.

Help Us Father;

Inspire us to remove the obstacles.

Give courage to those who know the truth to speak out.

Grant wisdom to the negotiators, and compassion to the jailors.

Inspire the media to speak out as loudly as they have in the past.

Protect those who seek in secret and help them to succeed.

Show us the tools to do Your will.

Guard and bless those in captivity, their families, and those who work for their release.

Let them come home soon.

Thank you Father.

Amen.

I Am The Unknown Soldier

Lyrics by, Patricia O'Grady Parcells for her father who is still missing

I am the unknown soldier

Some call me M.I.A.

Some say I can't go home again

Some say I chose to stay

I am the unknown soldier

Who you refuse to know

A brother and a friend of yours

Who left so long ago

Some call me P.O.W.

The one they left behind

I am the unknown soldier

The one they never tried to find

I'm the one they never tried to find

I'm a farmer from Missouri

The soldier from St. Paul

I was the hero of my family

And still my pictures upon their wall

I'm a poet and a scholar

And the boy who lived next door

I am the unknown soldier

Forgotten on a foreign shore

Long forgotten on a foreign shore

I was someone's lovin' daddy

I was someone's pride and joy

I was someone's tender lover

A worried Mama's little boy

And if you should just forget me here

Then should I forget you too

Please won't you try to bring me home

For I'm someone who belongs to you

I'm still someone who belongs to you

I am the unknown soldier

With no more tears to shed

I'm just a fading memory

A part of the living dead

My country has betrayed me

Yet I have forgiven you

And every night I pray to God

That somehow he'll forgive you too

Yes even somehow he'll forgive you too

I am the unknown soldier

The one for whom you cried

That familiar face that you can't face

The one your country told you died

I am the unknown soldier

With dreams you'll rescue me

And I am a man who understands

Only death might ever set me free

Only death might ever set me free

I am the unknown soldier

And I'm black and blue and gray

I said I am the unknown soldier

And I die slowly every day

And I'm tired and I'm hungry

I am the unknown soldier

The one you bought and sold

I'm the one you bought and sold

So lay down close beside me now

And gently stroke my face

And wrap your arms around me now

Before we leave this place

Some called me P.O.W.

Some called me M.I.A.

Some say I can't come home again

But I will return someday

Poem used with permission from Carl Klang

The Call

The call rang out across the land

I was barely eighteen

No longer a boy, but not yet a man

I was somewhere in-between

They said I was needed by Uncle Sam

It was for Freedom I was to fight

In a strange and distant place, called Vietnam

It was my duty, an honor, a right

When I arrived "in country" I was considered green

But a man you'd make of me

I'd learn to fight, learn to survive

And return home to my family

But things they never seem to go

The way we have them planned

So as I lay hurt, my friends lay dying

I fell into enemy hands

The years have come and gone

And still I am their guest

I remember hearing my brothers went home

God, I wish them all the best

I came here when my country called

It was for Freedom I was to fight

I was barely eighteen on that day

I turned forty-eight tonight

Each night I say a silent prayer

Hands clasped and on my knees

Hoping the country that I love so dear

Hasn't forgotten about me

� 1997 ~Eddie Luffman

A Letter to My Son

Dear Son, the day you joined the military, your father and I were so proud.

We went to your graduation ceremony.... but became lost faces in the crowd.

I cried myself to sleep, the night you left for Vietnam.

I remember the sound of your laughter and how you smiled as you said, "I'll be ok, don't worry, mom."

We've kept all your letters, and the pictures of your platoon.

Your tour was almost over.... you were coming home in June.

I cried the day we got the news, they said your plane went down.

Several bodies were recovered.... but yours they never found.

It broke my heart to wonder, if you were really MIA,

Or were you a POW.... and they didn't want to say.

I took a trip to see "The Wall" with the names of those who died.

There were so many people there.... I thought of you and cried.

I touched the bracelet with your name, and prayed others would hear my plea....

that many are still missing, and waiting to be set free.

I will not quit fighting, I know I'm not alone....

I will make my voice heard, until every soldier is brought home.

Love, Mom

Author: Barbara Milliman

�Copywright July 4, 1995

Permission granted by " Barbara Milliman"