Frank Goalby
Corporal Frank Goalby was a Marine aviator with VMSB-236
He was reported missing in action on a mission to Monoitu Mission, Bougainville, on 27 January 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 397651
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
July 22, 1921
at Herrin, IL
Parents
Frank John Goalby
Olive “Ollie” (Odum) Goalby
Education
Canton High School (1941)
Occupation & Employer
Munitions worker
Sanderson & Porter
Service Life
Entered Service
May 14, 1942
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
114 West Chestnut Street
Canton, IL
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Olive Goalby
Military Specialty
Aviation radioman / gunner
Primary Unit
VMSB-236
Campaigns Served
Northern Solomons (two tours)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 27 January 1944, took off from Piva Airfield in SBD-4 06799 for a routine evening search flight along southwestern coast of Bougainville Island. The pilot, First Lieutenant Edward B. Cohen, dropped a bomb on a Japanese bivouac area near Monoitu Mission and “was apparently turning back to survey the damage done.” The other plane on the flight lost sight of Cohen and returned to base alone.
Cohen and his gunner, Corporal Frank Goalby, were never seen alive again. Both were posted as missing after the mission, and declared dead on 16 January 1945.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Frank & Olive Goalby.
Location Of Loss
Cohen and Goalby were last seen over Monoitu Mission, Bougainville.
