Army Sgt. Christopher S. Potts

Died October 3, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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38, of Tiverton, R.I.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery Regiment, Rhode Island Army National Guard, Providence, R.I.; killed Oct. 3 when his unit, which was conducting traffic-control operations, was attacked by small-arms fire in Taji, Iraq.

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Rhode Island National Guardsman killed in Iraq

By Richard C. Lewis

Associated Press

CRANSTON, R.I. — A Rhode Island National Guardsman was killed during an attack by insurgents as he manned a traffic-control post in Iraq, the Guard announced Monday.

Sgt. Christopher Potts was killed Sunday, his 38th birthday, in a firefight sparked when an unknown number of insurgents attacked the traffic post in Taji, about 13 miles north of Baghdad in the so-called Sunni Triangle. The military is investigating, Guard officials said.

Potts is the fourth Rhode Island National Guardsman to be killed in Iraq. He is the 10th Rhode Islander to be killed in military-related action in that country since the invasion in March 2003, the Guard said.

Sixty-eight Rhode Island National Guard members have been wounded or injured in attacks in Iraq alone, said Lt. Col. Michael McNamara.

“This is a sad day for our state, for our Guard, and an enormously sad day for Christopher’s family,” said Gov. Don Carcieri during an announcement of Potts’ death at the Guard headquarters. The governor said he will order that flags fly at half-staff in honor of Potts.

Potts was a member of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery based in Providence. The Tiverton resident had been in the Guard for 14 years. In civilian life, he worked as a marine mechanic at New England Boatworks, a yacht builder and marina operator in Portsmouth.

Potts is survived by his wife, Terri, and two sons, Christopher Jr., 16, and Jackson, 2. They were not at the announcement, and have asked not to be contacted by the media. An employee at New England Boatworks said the company has been asked by the family not to comment on Potts.

Maj. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the Guard’s commander, did not know Potts personally.

“He was a United States soldier, certainly characteristic of the best soldiers we have,” Centracchio said.

Potts was deployed to Iraq in March for a one-year tour. It was his and his unit’s first assignment overseas, McNamara said.

McNamara said 471 R.I. troops are deployed currently, and that number will swell to 600 when the 1st Battalion, 126th Army Aviation, based at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, leaves on Oct. 29.

As seven wives of Potts’ comrades looked on at Guard headquarters, officials alluded to increased anxiety among soldiers and their families with the continued deployments and deaths. Centracchio said concerns about fraying morale was “undoubtedly a consideration.” Carcieri said the only thing that can be done is to give grieving family members a hug.

Potts’ death was the first in his unit, McNamara said.

“Our hearts go out to the Potts’ family,” said Amy Neary, from the 103rd’s family support group.