Robert Eugene Goetz

Retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Robert Eugene Goetz was born on November 23, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. He went through grade school in Victoria, Missouri, a rural area that provided much needed nourishment for a hungry lad during the Depression era. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 17 but was not allowed to report to Boot Camp until he had turned 18 in 1944. “Gunny” Goetz served with the Second Marine Division on Saipan and Okinawa during the Pacific campaigns and then, in 1945, he served with the Occupation troops in Nagasaki, Japan. He returned to civilian life in 1946 but re-enlisted in the Corps in 1948. He was posted to London and Paris serving two years with the Marine Detachment and, at one time, was even assigned duty with U.S. Army General George C. Marshall, architect of the European Recovery Plan. Bob was then sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he served with the Sixth Marines, thereby earning the right to wear the shoulder “Fourragere” cord presented to that unit by the French government in 1918 for their heroic stands at Belleau Woods and Chateau-Thierry during World War I. After the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Gunny Goetz was sent to the First Marine Division in 1951. The Gunny was also part of the rapid response team at Outpost #2 tasked with the potential rescue of American negotiators while overlooking the truce talks at Panmunjom. He was then returned stateside to train on nuclear decontamination procedures. The highlight of this training was Operation Teapot, in 1955, when he was chosen as an observer of one of the Atomic weapons tests in the Nevada desert. Gunny Goetz served with the Fourth Marine Division in Hawaii from 1959 to 1960 before returning to Camp Pendleton in California. He was the NCOIC of the Rapid Deployment Force sent to Guantanamo Bay in 1961 when Fidel Castro seized power and was threatening our Naval Base. His were the first enlisted Marine boots on the ground in that international crisis. Gunnery Sergeant Goetz finished out his Marine career by serving with the Third Marine Division “Jungle Warfare Training Center” on Okinawa from 1964 to 1965. His military career spanned 3 decades and two wars, including service with four different Marine Divisions all around the globe. Bob was “happily married” to Anita on June 28, 1980 and they initially lived in Escondido, San Marcos and Reedley. In 1993 Bob and Anita moved to Pismo Dunes Mobile Home Park and believed that they had found Paradise. A year ago, Bob’s failing health led them to a series of Care Facilities but they eventually found a home at Las Brisas Residence in San Luis Obispo. Gunny went to be with the Lord on February 26, 2022 at the age of 95. He leaves behind his Texas bride, Anita and her family from Fresno: daughter Linda and husband David Hutchinson, and their daughter, Dana, and her husband Alex French, and their three children. The motto of the United States Marine Corps is “Semper Fidelis”, always faithful, and the Gunny always was. His history, from growing up during the Depression era to the Cuban Missile crisis, is the history of America. We thank you, Robert Eugene Goetz, for your service and for your life of dedication to this nation. Semper Fi.