Lt. Gen. William E. Potts, the highest ranking graduate of the Oklahoma Military Academy, is among nine veterans to be inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame on Nov. 11 in Oklahoma City.

The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a reception followed by dinner and the induction ceremony at the Gaylord Center at Oklahoma Christian University.

The Oklahoma Military Academy (OMA) is the predecessor institution of Rogers State University.

Potts, who died in 2005, graduated from the OMA in 1941. He was named to the OMA Alumni Hall of Fame in 1984 and named an OMA Distinguished Alumnus in 1987.

Lt. Gen. Potts participated in 15 campaigns, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

He was a native of Heavener and attended OMA in Claremore from 1937 to 1941. He was named distinguished honor graduate by the school and the outstanding ROTC graduate in Oklahoma by the U.S. Reserve Officer’s Association.

Potts went to OMA during his last two years of high school and his first two years of college. Although he was 19 when he completed his military training, he was commissioned as a U.S. Army Second Lieutenant within six weeks of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

After a promotion by Gen. George Patton, he became the youngest field grade officer to lead a battalion in Europe.

He commanded an armored cavalry unit responsible for the East-West German border, the Fulda Gap, and the Frankfurt-Berlin autobahn.

He also served on the Army General Staff, the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the office of the Secretary of Defense, in joint, combined and Allied staff positions and as the Army representative in the U.S. National Intelligence Community.

Seven countries, including France, the Republic of China, and the U. S. have honored him with a total of 51 decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star and Purple Heart. He is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Potts held a bachelor of science degree in political science and international affairs from the University of Maryland. He also earned two master’s degrees, one in international affairs and another in management public administration from George Washington University.

He also studied at Oxford University in England and at Harvard University. He was a graduate of nine military service schools, including the National War College, and did doctoral work in philosophy from American University in Washington, D.C.

He established the Lt. General William E. Potts Endowment at RSU. In addition, he was primarily responsible for obtaining grant funds to build RSU Public Television and the station’s first broadcast tower, said Dr. Danette Boyle, RSU vice president for development.

Other inductees into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame include the following, eight of whom are deceased: