Memorial

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T/4 Michael Potcner was employed at the Freeland Overall Mfg. Company as a cutter before he enlisted in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on 19 November 1942 after being rejected two times for a minor physical defect. He was sent overseas in August 1944.

He was widely known because of his beard. He had to stop shaving in 1937 because of a minor skin disease, and when that was cured, he continued to cultivate the hirsute adornment. It was a real surprise he allowed a barber to shave it off when he was accepted for military service. Even newspaper photographers were called at the time to memorize the event and photos appeared in several papers.

He was killed by artillery shell fragments.
He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Grand-Failly, France.

T/4 Potcner had turned down an opportunity to receive an over-38 age discharge in 1943, when that ruling was set up by the War Department.