The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with E. B. Potter. Potter was attached to the Intelligence Section of the 14th Naval District in Oahu during World War II. He graduated with an English degree from the University of Richmond in 1929. He completed an advanced degree in English at the University of Chicago, and during this time the war broke out in Europe. He applied for and received a commission in the Navy. Potter was sent to the Naval Academy as a reservist to teach college-level European and naval history. After 7 December 1941 he went to communications school. From there he went to Pearl Harbor in November of 1943. Potter worked in the Registered Publications Issuing Office (RPIO), distributing codes and ciphers to ships of the fleet. He provides a vivid description of his work. Potter became second-in-command of RPIO. He talks some of Commander Joseph Rochefort’s operation and code breaking. He discusses briefly working on the biography of Admiral Chester Nimitz, and some of Admiral Bill Halsey’s actions during the war. Potter was later assigned as executive officer to the 14th Naval District and provides stories of his experiences. In 1945 he returned to …

Photograph of a ghostly, transparent family sitting on the edge of a wooden porch which branches off a two-story lake house. A woman sits on the left side of the porch and a young girl clings to her back. A man sits on the right side of the porch holding a small infant. A young girl sits in the center of the porch between two more individuals. A clothesline hangs from a balcony which wraps around the house's second story. [1994, Block Isle, RI]

Photograph of a ghostly infant crawling across a wooden deck which extends from a two-story house. Two blurry figures move behind the infant. The house stands in a field surrounded by trees. [1994, Block Island, RI]

Photograph of Tim holding a young girl named Clare while sitting on the back porch of a wooden two-story cabin. Tim is shirtless and wearing round glasses.