Why We Think William Dean “Billy” Pottorff is a Community Jewel
At 17, Billy volunteered for the U.S. army and received his MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) and was deployed for his first tour to Vietnam in October 1969. After surviving a helicopter crash on April 26, 1970, Billy took a year to recover, and by June 8, 1971, Billy once again shipped out to Viet Nam for his second tour-of-duty.
As he heroically served his two tours, Billy was awarded two Purple Hearts and numerous “Awards of the Air Medal” for his service.
He also witnessed the decimation of the Siberian Tigers during the war . . . and it tugged at his heart.
Twelve years after he returned to the states, he founded “Cedar Cove Feline Conservation Park” in 1997 in Louisburg, Kansas. He built the conservation to educate the public about the large cats of the world.
Currently the land is home to tigers, lions, a leopard, a mountain lion, wolves, servals, a caracal, a lynx, an Asian leopard cat, bobcats, Geoffrey’s cats, coatimundis, and foxes.
“He volunteered for Viet Nam . . . he was not drafted,” CEO of GoBrolly Internet said. “He came home with the drive to save animals that were being killed by the war. His enthusiasm to save these animals brought something special to Louisburg completely unheard of back then. He was his own man, and I admire that.”
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