Maj. General William Estel Potts

(1935-2004) William “Billy” Potts was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1935, and grew up in Columbia. Potts played for Columbia Central High School in 1952 when the team won the state championship. He later attended Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship, during which time Vanderbilt defeated Auburn in the Gator Bowl of 1955.

Potts graduated Vanderbilt with a reserve ROTC commission in 1958, working as an officer in maintenance and supply until being deployed to Vietnam in 1964 as an advisor. By 1967, as a major, Potts served as the assistant military attaché to Turkey. He later served in the Pentagon, South Korea, and in 1985, was appointed as the 22nd Army Chief of Ordnance. Potts retired from the Army in 1986. He passed away in 2004 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery

Information provided by Tom Price, Director of The Maury County Archives