Francis Calvin Potter
PFC Francis C. Potter served with Charlie Company, First Marine Raider Battalion (Edson’s Raiders).
He was reported missing in action after the battle of Edson’s Ridge, Guadalcanal, on 14 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 354990
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 20, 1921
at Plymouth, NH
Parents
Edward Saxon Potter, Sr.
Annie E. (Merchant) Potter
Education
Details unknown
(High school graduate)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 14, 1942
at Boston, MA
Home Of Record
140 Main Street
Plymouth, NH
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Annie Elizabeth Potter
Military Specialty
“Specialist 5th class” (sniper)
Primary Unit
C/1st Raider Battalion
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Francis Potter served with Company C, 1st Raider Battalion, during the Solomon Islands campaign. He first saw action in the battle for Tulagi in August 1942, and then on the island of Guadalcanal in the weeks that followed – terminating in the chaotic fight that would become known as the “Battle of Edson’s Ridge.”
Potter was reported as missing in action on 14 September 1942, after the two-day battle ended in a decisive American victory. While the exact specifics surrounding his disappearance are not known, it is likely that he was a member of a Charlie Company platoon on outpost duty. The platoon was attacked and overrun by the Kokusho Battalion on the night of 12 September 1942. Charlie Company suffered heavy casualties, and not all of the remains were recoverable when the battle concluded.
Francis Potter was officially declared dead on 15 September 1943.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded; reported as missing, identifiable remains not recovered.
Potter, or one of his Raider comrades, may have been buried as Unknown X-8 in the First Marine Division Cemetery.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Annie Potter.
Location Of Loss
PFC Potter was killed in action in the vicinity of Edson’s Ridge.