Prv. 1st Class Tony Potter, Jr.

Funeral services for PFC Tony Joe Potter Jr., will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 at the First Baptist Church in Okmulgee. Burial will follow in the Okmulgee Cemetery under the direction of McClendon Winters Funeral Home of Okmulgee. The 20-year-old Oklahoma National Guard member died Friday, September 9, 2011 in Paktia Province, Afghanistan. He was born in Tulsa on December 12, 1990 to Tony and Yvonne (Draper) Potter Sr. His grandfather James Draper preceded him in death. Survivors include his wife Emily Yarbrough Potter, his parents, a sister Christy Potter Foley and her husband Keith of Okmulgee, a brother Dillon Potter of Okmlgee, a sister Sarah Potter of Okmulgee, paternal grandparents Emanuel and Laverne Potter of Okmulgee and his maternal grandmother Barbara Draper, Arenzville, IL. The 2010 Okmulgee High School graduate’s body will be flown into the Tulsa airport at 10:50 a.m. today (Friday). The brief military service will be held there to honor the fallen hero. Afterwards, McClendon Winters Funeral Home will bring the soldier to Okmulgee in a special military procession that will arrive in town sometime in the early afternoon. Local residents are invited to stand along the route to pay respects to this fine young man who died fighting for our freedom. The exact time the of his arrival will be posted, if possible, on the Okmulgee Daily Times FACEBOOK page Friday morning. As for the route, officials expect that it will come south from Tulsa down US 75 (Wood Drive) and then turn west onto 8th street and proceed to McClendon Winters Funeral Home at 7th and Porter. Some of those who wish to pay their respects can do so outside the funeral home, while others will want to line up along the route leading to the funeral home. News of PFC Potter’s death began to spread late on Friday evening. However, the Department of Defense did not make the formal announcment until Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 - exactly a decade after the terrorists attacked America. According to the DOD, PFC Potter was killed Friday in Afghanistan. Two other Oklahoma National Guard members killed on the same day were Sgt. Bret D. Isenhower, 26, of Lamar; and Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, of Collinsville; The three were in Paktia, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked their unit. They were cut down during a small-arms fire attack, officials said. The soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 279 Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard in Tulsa. According to the report, two other soldiers also were wounded in the attack but are expected to recover from their injuries. The group of soldiers had stopped to check out a land mind and were ambushed by enemy fire. PFC Potter was fatally wounded along with two of his fellow Guard members. PFC Potter and his wife Emily (Yarbrough) Potter were expecting their first child in the spring. Emily was a college student at NEO A&M at the time of the attack. The Okmulgee native was a 2010 graduate of Okmulgee High School. In school, he was an outstanding wrestler for Coach Jeff Pulliam’s Bulldog mat program. In his senior bio, he listed his favorite memory at OHS as “me and ‘Bull’ (Coach Pulliam) running at each other with medicine balls. I flew at least 10 feet ... great times!” Tony Joe was also an outstanding football player. He played in the front line and worked hard to protect the quarterback and running backs. He was very proud of helping the Okmulgee Bulldogs qualify for the playoffs in his senior season at OHS. Just prior to his May graduation, he joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard in an April 2010 enlistment. He took the hard route, signing up to become an infantryman. Another big step was finding the love of his life in Emily Yarbrough. When it was time to propose to her, he enlisted the help of his editor friend at the Okmulgee Daily Times. Emily knew Tony Joe was in love with her and was going to ask her to marry him. However, she had no idea when or how he would pop the question. To spring the surprise trap, he brought the unsuspecting young lady to the editor’s office with the idea he was getting only articles about his sports career. Once the cute couple sat down, he began telling how wonderful she was and how crazy he was about her. That was the editor’s cue to suggestion that “I think you ought to marry this one!” With that (happened) cue, the young man stood up and pulled a ring from his pocket. “I think I will (ask her to marry me),” he said. With that, he dropped onto one knee and asked Emily to share the rest of his life with him. Stunned and crying tears of joy, she happily said “yes ... yes!” This was a storybook beginning for Tony Joe and the future Mrs. Emily Potter. The couple announced their wedding plans with an article in the Okmulgee Daily Times that included the surprise proposal from Tony Joe. They were married in November 2010. More joy came there way recently when Tony Joe and Emily learned they were going to have a baby, and soon would become a ‘family.’ They were still waiting on the doctors to tell them if their child would be a boy or girl. Tony Joe’s military service was also excellent. He was promoted to Private First Class in May 2011. It seemed a wonderful world was in store for the adorable couple. However, the trip to forever ended on Friday when an evil foe in a far-away land took the life of one of Okmulgee’s finest citizens. Officials said PFC Potter is the youngest Oklahoma Army National Guardsmen to die in either Iraq or Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001. This was his first deployment. Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, adjutant general for Oklahoma, issued his deep sorry about the Sept. 9th deaths of the Oklahoma soldiers. “This is an extremely sad day for the 45th Infantry Brigade, the Oklahoma National Guard and the entire state,” he said “These young men exemplified the courage and commitment of the finest Citizen-Soldiers. And, the fact that they all volunteered to join the military and serve during this time of war says a lot about their character and devotion to our country.” The losses of Oklahomans have mounted rapidly since July. In fact, there have been 10 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers from the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team killed in Afghanistan since July 29. Overall, 15 Oklahoma Army National Guard Soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. An article in the Tulsa World indicated Friday's death toll marks the second time Oklahoma has lost three soldiers in a single day. In September 2008, three Oklahoma Army National Guardsmen were killed when an Army CH-47 helicopter crashed in Iraq. There are about 2,200 Oklahoma National Guardsmen in Afghanistan for a deployment that started in June. “Our casualty assistance teams are currently with the families of these fallen heroes,” Deering said in a statement. “While the fighting will surely continue in the weeks ahead for the brigade in Afghanistan, the families of these brave men are our priority back here at home.” Family members went to Dover, Delaware, to be there when PFC Potter’s flag-draped coffin arrived at the air force base where all fallen heroes are brought. “Today at 3:30 a.m., I watched them unload mine and Tony’s son from an aircraft,” said the soldier’s grief-stricken mother, Yvonne, in a FACEBOOK post. “Got to be the saddest day of my life.” Okmulgee friends are praying and offering words of encouragement to Emily and to all members of the Potter family. Hundreds and hundreds of FACEBOOK post have shared their love and concern for those who were closest to the late Tony Joe Potter. There will be a memorial service and military honors for the young hero when his body is returned to Oklahoma. The funeral services are pending with McClendon Funeral Home. As soon as plans are finalized, the memorial service time and location will be announced. On Friday, Okmulgee High School is hosting Okemah in a football game at Harmon Field. It appears a group of Tony Joe’s friends are preparing a special event in his honor there, from 7:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. More on that will be announced when it becomes available. PFC Tony Joe Potter is the third service member with direct ties to Okmulgee County to die in Afghanistan. Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician 2nd Class Tony M. Randolph, 22, of Henryetta, Okla., was killed while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in July 2009. Kevin Cueto of the U.S. Marines died last June in Afghanistan. In a related note, PFC Potter will be honored at the Okmulgee High School Homecoming game this evening. He was a talented football player for the 2009 playoff team at OHS. Funeral services may be viewed live at http://memorialstreams.com/ms/Winters Please use Service ID:3248 Password: potter

Prv. 1st Class Tony Potter, Jr.

December 12, 1990 - September 9, 2011