Oral History Interview with E. B. Potter, October 8, 1994
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Oral History Interview with E. B. Potter, October 8, 1994 (Text)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with E. B. Potter. Potter was attached to the Intelligence Section of the 14th Naval District in Oahu during World War II. He graduated with an English degree from the University of Richmond in 1929. He completed an advanced degree in English at the University of Chicago, and during this time the war broke out in Europe. He applied for and received a commission in the Navy. Potter was sent to the Naval Academy as a reservist to teach college-level European and naval history. After 7 December 1941 he went to communications school. From there he went to Pearl Harbor in November of 1943. Potter worked in the Registered Publications Issuing Office (RPIO), distributing codes and ciphers to ships of the fleet. He provides a vivid description of his work. Potter became second-in-command of RPIO. He talks some of Commander Joseph Rochefort’s operation and code breaking. He discusses briefly working on the biography of Admiral Chester Nimitz, and some of Admiral Bill Halsey’s actions during the war. Potter was later assigned as executive officer to the 14th Naval District and provides stories of his experiences. In 1945 he returned to the Naval Academy as an associate professor, and later became a professor and chair of the history department. He published a number of works throughout his career including a textbook on Naval history, which he worked with Admiral Nimitz on, and biographies on both Nimitz and Halsey. He retired from the Naval Academy in 1977. He was the leading naval historian at the Naval Academy from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s.
Oral History Interview with E. B. Potter, October 8, 1994, ark:/67531/metapth1606264/
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Oral History Interview with E. B. Potter, October 8, 1994, audio recording, October 8, 1994; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1631013/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.