Army Sgt. Potter was assigned to the 223rd Military Police Company, U.S. Army National Guard, Louisville, Kentucky. Potter was a member of a four-vehicle military police team searching the prison area near Abu Ghraib Prison. During the search, his humvee left the road, overturned and was submerged in a canal while responding to a mortar attack by Iraqi insurgents. Potter was more concerned about the safety of his comrades than about himself. When his vehicle rolled into the canal, he made sure his troops made it out of the vehicle. All the occupants got out, and two made it to shallow water, but Potter was swept away by swift currents. A soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division, Sgt. Andrew Baddick of Jim Thorpe, Pa., died trying to rescue Potter. Darrin grew up in Maysville, Frankfort and finally Louisville. He became interested in sports and the outdoors at an early age. In elementary school, he would clip empty Final Four brackets printed in the newspaper and sell copies to classmates for a quarter apiece. Darrin had wanted to be a police officer since high school. He served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia with the 223rd in December 2000. His deployment to Iraq was to have been his last before returning with hopes of re-entering the police force. He was a military man; he knew his mission and he went there to do a job. He was very positive in his outlook and was a compassionate, loving, selfless person who always had a calm demeanor. Darrin was outspoken, competitive, caring and intelligent, said a Louisville police officer that trained at the police academy with him. He was one of the smartest in the class and others would always go to him with questions. But he had a very caring nature. One police trainee couldn't run well because she injured her knee, but Darrin wouldn't let her quit. He ran the last laps with her, cheering her on to finish. Final words spoken at Darrin’s funeral were taken from his answering machine. "Hey it's Darrin, I'm in Iraq. I can't come to the phone. Just leave me a message or give me a call on my international number. Thanks a lot. God Bless America."