World War I Dog Tag Returned To Chase County

From Kake.com: World War I Dog Tag Returned To Chase County
Thanks to the work of a couple of French citizens searching for World War I artifacts, a Kanas family is now in possession of a loved one's World War I dog tag.

Ninety-four years after it was lost in the trenches of France, the dog tag has been returned to Cottonwood Falls in Chase County.

From the trenches of France to the Flint Hills of Kansas comes the dog tag of a Cottonwood Falls soldier who lost it in World War I.

Kent Potter, a Chase County farm boy, joined the army in 1917 to fight in World War I. He went to france and was a mule cart driver, hauling war supplies. World War I was known for its extreme carnage, up-close fighting in trenches and for chemical warfare with mustard gas, which could have contributed to Private Potter getting separated from his dog tag.

"As a soldier, it's your only identification, basically," said Col. (Ret.) Charles Rayl. "It's called dog tags."

But Potter returned from the war to Kanas without his dog tag, got married and raised a family in Butler County. His 75-year-old son Dale Potter of El Dorado never heard his dad talk much about the war or his missing dog tag.

"We didn't even know it was lost," Dale said.

But recently, two French men, Michael Toussaint and Jean Claude Fonderflick found the tag and got it returned to the U.S. There's an old Cavalry saying that a good soldier takes care of his horse or mule before he takes care of himself.

"We think there's a possibility he put the has mask on the mule before he put it on himself," Potter said.

And it's believed he lost the tag during a mustard gas attack. It's not certain that's the case. Dale Potter is just happy to receive the dog tag after all these years.

"But I hope that this dog tag will remind each of us and the items in this museum and other museums of the sacrifice so many gave over the many years," he said.

For now, the tag is on loan to the Chase County Historical Museum to be on display. Dale Potter's thanks goes out ot those French men for their efforts to get it returned.

Dale vows that the dog tag will not get lost again and plans on keeping it as a family heirloom.