Colonel Potter: Encyclopedia II - Colonel Potter - History Prior to the 4077th

Colonel Potter - History Prior to the 4077th

A Methodist, Sherman Potter was from Hannibal, Missouri, the childhood home of Mark Twain. (Two early episodes mention a home in Nebraska, however, and Potter implies in another episode that he's a Presbyterian.) He learned (among other things) Army foot care from a fellow Missourian–future President Harry S Truman. Potter also reveals early on that he's one-quarter Cherokee, when Frank Burns complains that Hawkeye "always gets the Cowboys (friendly troops), while I get stuck with the Indians (North Koreans and Chinese)!", which may influence some of Potter's liberal political sympathies.

Sherman Potter enlisted in the Army at fifteen, when he lied about his age to get into the cavalry, presumably during World War I. (His exact age during the series is debatable. In the episode "Pressure Points", Potter gives his age as 62. With the episode set in 1952, he would have been fifteen in 1905, well before the war.) Col. Potter gave distinguished service, earning the Good Conduct Medal. Because he was an enlisted man at the time, he was eligible for one. Potter noted that neither MacArthur or Bradley had earned such an award. (This is a continuity error; the Army did not issue a Good Conduct Medal until 1941, by which time Potter had become a commissioned officer.)

During World War I, he and a number of his friends spent the night in a French chateau while under fire. They came across a cache of brandy, and proceeded to drink all but one bottle. They made an agreement (a tontine) that the last survivor of the group would take the bottle and make a toast to his friends. Potter turned out to be the last survivor of the group, and drank a toast to his old friends, together with his new ones in the unit. {In one episode he claimed to have been captured by the Germans}.

After World War I, Sherman Potter entered medical school, beginning his practice in 1932. (We never learn what sparked his interest in becoming a surgeon, "the only kind of doctor I ever wanted to be." He knew a number of doctors at home, and had joined the Army because he'd craved adventure as a boy. Perhaps the Army had made it possible for him to go to medical school, or having had enough adventure, he now pursued other goals.) During this time, he married Mildred. Potter went through residency in Saint Louis. After residency, Potter served in the Army in a number of positions up until the time of his service in Korea. Prior to his service at the 4077th, he served as a hospital administrator. He and Mildred purchased a home in Missouri, and raised a son and daughter. He and Mildred became grandparents when a granddaughter was born in the early 1950s.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History Prior to the 4077th", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki