Norm Potter Remembered...

By Len D'Ooge '48

It is almost impossible for anyone to write fully about Brother Norm Potter. Since Norm graduated from MSU, I do not know one brother who has come close to being able to draw the Alpha Pi alumni together as Norm did. Through dedication and long hours, he not only put together a periodic newsletter, but also was instigator, host, treasurer, and motivator that brought together Alpha Pi brothers from all over the country to Cadillac, Michigan for reunions that took place for many years.

During WWII, Norm trained with the 10th Mountain Division [Ski Troopers] at Camp Hale, Colorado. Although I did not join the 10th Mountain until they arrived in Italy, it was only after the war at the chapter house that we put 2 & 2 together and found that we both served in the 1st Battalion of the 85th Regiment; -- Norm a jeep driver for headquarters company, while I was a platoon leader in "D" Company. I had heard rumors of one of Norm’s escapades, when he tried to help an officer he was driving for retrieve a pistol from a dead German lying in a deep ditch beside the road in Italy’s Po Valley. As Norm tried to help, he proffered his M-1, barrel first to the officer who was in the ditch reaching for the pistol. When the officer grabbed the barrel, Norm, trying to pull the officer up, inadvertently squeezed the trigger. The bullet creased the officer’s chest, just enough to draw blood. Norm figured he would be court-martialed, but the officer just smiled, said it was OK, and besides it was worth a Purple Heart, which headquarters people rarely got.

I verified this with Norm after the war, even though none of us talked much about our wartime experiences. Since graduation, the renewed friendships with Alpha Pi brothers were kept strong by Norm Potter. As I write this, a couple of years after Norm’s death, The BOND ETERNAL with Alpha Pi is just that--ETERNAL. And, those of us that knew and loved Norm will be forever grateful for his part in helping forge that bond.