Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts deployed to Iraq in March 2004 and was tragically killed during combat operations in Taji on Oct. 3, 2004, which was his birthday.

Staff Sgt. Potts was a true American hero and his young life was tragically cut short at the age of 38 while he defended freedom and democracy abroad.”

Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr.

PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — It’s a mouthful, but if Gov. Daniel McKee approves, the Sakonnet River Bridge will have a new name: The Staff Sergeant Christopher Potts Sakonnet River Bridge.

The General Assembly last week approved legislation (2025-S 0591A, 2025-H 5051A) sponsored by Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. and Rep. Samuel A. Azzinaro to rename the bridge in honor of the Tiverton man who was killed during combat operations in Taji, Iraq, in 2004.

“Staff Sgt. Potts was a true American hero and his young life was tragically cut short at the age of 38 while he defended freedom and democracy abroad,” said Felag (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Legislation and Veterans’ Affairs. “Renaming the Sakonnet Bridge in his honor will serve as a fitting reminder of what our service members sacrifice in order to protect the ideals and freedoms that we deeply cherish. Staff Sergeant Potts was a beloved member of the community and I this recognition honors the valiant and dedicated life that he lived.”

Azzinaro (D-Dist. 37, Westerly), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said while Potts’s death was tragic, his life was full of valor, dedication and selflessness.

“To rename this major Rhode Island bridge in his honor is a worthy tribute to a true Rhode Island hero who gave his life so that we all may live in a world free of tyranny and persecution. And now, hopefully whenever someone drives over this bridge, they will be compelled to look up who Staff Sergeant Potts was and discover how his legacy will live on in the state that he loved so much,” Azzinaro said.

Potts served in the Rhode Island National Guard for over 14 years. He was assigned to Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery Regiment, Army National Guard. He deployed to Iraq in March 2004 and was tragically killed during combat operations in Taji, Iraq, on Oct. 3, 2004, which was his birthday.

He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V” and the Purple Heart. 

The bill now heads to the governor for consideration.

Previous lawmakers have made attempts to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge. In 2009, former Democratic Rep. Amy Rice of Portsmouth wanted to name the bridge after Anne Hutchinson. Some residents consider Hutchinson the town’s Colonial founder, while others insist she had little to do with Portsmouth’s founding in 1638. 

Also in 2009, Rep. John G. Edwards, a Tiverton Democrat, rallied to have the bridge named after Potts. Edwards soon retooled the bill to call the bridge the “Veterans’ Memorial Sakonnet River Bridge,” for all the fallen soldiers of Portsmouth. 

Neither bill succeeded, nor did a 2011 resubmission by Edwards for the Veterans Memorial branding. The new bridge finally opened in 2012 under its original name: the Sakonnet River Bridge.