Joseph Otho Goble was born near Statesville, North Carolina in September 1914. He, along with his four siblings, grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. The farm provided well for the family. He graduated from high school in 1933. Not able to find work initially other than on the family farm, he decided to seek out employment. He chose to help build a dam near Savanah [Annotator's Note: Savanah, Georgia]. They refused to hire him because he was not from Georgia. He returned home and went to work on a state farm for a dollar a day. He saved enough money to go to Washington, D.C. where he got a job in a restaurant. It paid two dollars a day plus meals. He had doubled his salary. It was 1935. He attempted to go to work for the same franchise in Florida but did not succeed. He continued working in Washington until he moved to Chicago. He found work but the business soon closed. He returned to the same restaurant in Washington and afterward obtained a cab driver's license. Goble's landlord said he was going to California and asked for him to accompany him. Goble and another fellow loaded the vehicles until they looked like those in "The Grapes of Wrath" [Annotator's Note: a movie about a family during the Great Depression which had loaded and stacked all its belongings on a rickety, old truck and headed to California in search of work]. It was a perilous trip, complicated by run-ins with the authorities. Reaching California, Goble got a job in a restaurant. He returned to the East Coast after becoming homesick. That again had its share of turmoil. He went to work again as a cab driver in Washington, but heard that the draft was underway. Goble decided to join the Marines. He entered service on 20 October 1940. He enlisted in the Marine Corps because he liked the uniforms and did not want to go to Germany. He anticipated that the Army was destined for there. He did not want to suffer with the cold weather in Germany.

Joseph Goble was part of a contingent of Marine enlistees from Raleigh, North Carolina. He did 12 weeks of boot camp and then was destined for Iceland. The ship he was slated to sail on was almost sabotaged by a German spy masking as a Navy officer. The saboteur tried to destroy the ship by igniting its ammunition. He was apprehended beforehand. The ammunition was offloaded and fresh munitions were loaded onto the vessel. It took six weeks during which time Goble had liberty. It was decided to send a different ship to Iceland. Goble's ship was sent to Cuba. He loved duty in Cuba. He participated in maneuvers and survival training. The food was not very good. Some was from World War 1. His outfit even went to Haiti for what turned out to be cancelled maneuvers. Goble learned to be a barber during that time. He bought his supplies in Guantanamo City [Annotator's Note: Guantánamo, Cuba]. He taught himself to be a good barber and earned a good salary with the trade. He became a sharpshooter on the rifle range and earned even more money for that rating. He was a good shot being a civilian hunter of small game prior to becoming a Marine. Goble and half his company were shipped to Norfolk, Virginia and given liberty while another ship was loaded with the company's equipment. Goble barely made it to the ship on time before its departure. He found out the other half of his company that shipped out separately and were destined for Wake Island. That contingent did not make its destination because the Japanese commenced bombing the Marine stronghold before they reached it. Goble returned to Camp Lejeune. He was on leave at his parents' home when Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was attacked. He was excited with the news and said goodbye to his folks. He made his way back to his base.

Joseph Goble recollects how he met his wife while he was working in Washington, D.C. before his enlistment. She was a nurse from his hometown on temporary duty there. When he returned back home, he made a point of meeting up with that lady. Back at Camp Lejeune, Colonel Puller [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller] called for volunteers and selected Goble to be a guard to keep civilians off the base. Goble encountered, but did not stop, a van which was considered to be participating in espionage with German submarines offshore. The enemy agents were eventually apprehended. When Goble's troopship and convoy was en route to the Pacific, a German submarine fired a torpedo at them. Goble's ship and the convoy turned in time to avoid the hit. Goble would sail on seven different ships. When the ship reached the Pacific Ocean, he found out that the destination was British Samoa. A whole battalion of American Marines were sent there to post guard against invasion by the enemy. It was good duty for five months. Besides guarding and preparing for invasion, there were maneuvers performed on the island. There were also plenty of bananas to eat there.

Joseph Goble and the Marines went about strengthening their lines on the edge of the mountains [Annotator's Note: after withdrawing from the Second Battle of the Matanikau on 27 September 1942 on Guadalcanal]. That was in anticipation of a Japanese attack through the jungles. Prior to the attack, Goble's regiment [Annotator's Note: Goble served as a scout and infantryman in 3rd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was called on to cross the Matanikau River once again to hit the enemy from the mountain side rather than the ocean. The next day, the regiment was to hit the enemy from that side while a Raider Battalion and the 1st and 5th Marine Regiments would attack from the reverse side. Goble and his company were in a good position when they struck the Japanese. There were 700 to 800 enemy soldiers in the low ground when Goble and his men struck. Puller [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Likeutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller] had the machine guns with him on the enemy's opposite side. The enemy was caught by surprise. It resulted in all the Japanese being killed. None escaped. Goble had used rifle grenades to attack the enemy. He was exposed in his position but was not hit. Will Rust, the BAR [Annotator's Note: Browning Automatic Rifle] man, was hit. Goble went to rescue him but, in doing so, he was also hit. Goble's head was laying on his own foot. He was treated to straighten out his leg and given two shots of morphine. He passed out. The wounded Marines were withdrawn. Goble's action resulted in his receipt of the Silver Star. He was brought to a tent hospital on the island. A shell from a friendly ship fell short and hit a hospital tent. He later was picked up by a medical airplane to go to a hospital ship. Enemy aircraft fired on Goble's plane even though there was a Red Cross on it. The American plane escaped and reached New Hebrides.

Joseph Goble was sent to a hospital ship [Annotator's Note: in New Hebrides] and given treatment for the leg wounds he received on Guadalcanal. He was the first human to receive a stator split that was usually reserved only for animals. From the New Hebrides, he was taken to Australia and then sailed to America on the Bloemfontein, a Dutch ship. It was formerly a cattle ship. Goble was on the weather deck with canvas stretched over him. It took about a week to reach San Francisco. The ship rolled back and forth during the voyage. Disembarking was painful. He spent eight months in the hospital. Consideration was given to amputation of his lower leg. Goble was transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital [Annotator's Note: then the National Naval Medical Center, now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland] and that was the best thing for him. He spent a total of 14 months recovering from his wound. Goble was married on 9 July 1943 while en route to Bethesda Hospital.

Joseph Goble witnessed some of his fellow Marines having traumatic experiences in combat. Some hunted Japanese on their own. One night after sleeping in the rain, Goble encountered Marines who were withdrawing from action. They were showing the effects of combat. He did not experience fear. It was more a numb feeling. Near Bloody Ridge, Goble jumped into a foxhole. It had a dead Japanese soldier in it. Goble's boots smelled for days afterward. At the time, he just did not think about it. He tried to keep it out of his mind later in life. Based on his doctor's suggestion, Goble tried not to think about his wartime experiences. He got busy with life and left the memories to the past. He took up hiking in the mountains to keep busy. The hiking built up his wounded leg. He exercises frequently and tries not to miss a day. Years ago, he had wartime images that returned to him but no longer. Goble had no long-term negative feelings toward the Japanese. His time as a Marine warrior was just like a job to him. It was like killing an animal, not like killing a human. Dropping the atomic bombs saved the lives of thousands of people.

Joseph Goble comments on Major Rogers [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major Otho Rogers, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division]. Rogers had not been trained for combat but ended up leading a company in behind enemy lines. He was killed by a mortar round after going ashore. When his replacement [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Captain Zach D. Cox, commanding officer of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] was severely wounded, it left just one officer in the entire outfit. They only made it out when Puller [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller] went aboard a destroyer and directed the ships to fire on the mountain. Goble knew how to take care of himself and he had already made plans on what he would do if they had to get out on their own.

Joseph Goble's most memorable experience of World War 2 was when he was hit [Annotator's Note: Goble suffered a severe leg wound during an engagement in October 1942 on Guadalcanal]. Goble had a dream after that incident about the arrival of 13 ships. Those ships arrived the next day. Goble fought in the war because he knew the draft would get him plus, he wanted to be a Marine. His father told him later that the sheriff had come to the house with a warrant because Goble had not signed up for the draft. Goble was on Guadalcanal. His father told the sheriff that he would have to go to the Pacific to find his son. The war made Goble think more about how he should live. He raised a good family. His children have had successful careers. Goble feels the war resulted in subsequent business opportunities to work with the Japanese and Chinese. Goble could not have made it through three more battles like the ones he fought on Guadalcanal. Being wounded allowed him to survive the war. The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is important. Teaching World War 2 is very vital for future generations. Goble has talked with a teacher who did not even know what Guadalcanal was. The country seems to be losing it liberties right now. Goble has had his life saved by the Lord multiple times. One time involved a bus trip he decided against. The bus ended up crashing into a river and many were killed. There were other instances before and after his deployment while in the Marines. Starvation on Guadalcanal was widespread for the Marines and the Japanese. Goble and his regiment [Annotator's Note: Goble served as a scout and infantryman in 3rd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] managed to save and find food and survive. There was no G.I. Bill when Goble returned to the United States [Annotator's Note: he returned in late 1942 while the G.I. Bill was not enacted until 1944] so he was educated through the VA [Annotator's Note: Veterans Administration]. Goble was aggravated with the Red Cross for charging servicemen for candy bars and other things while they gave those items to shipyard workers. The veterans did not have money to buy the items. Nevertheless, he has no hard feelings toward the Red Cross and has even donated to them.

Joseph Goble and the 7th Marine Regiment [Annotator's Note: Goble served as a rifleman in 3rd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division] remained on British Samoa for two weeks after the start of the invasion of Guadalcanal by the 1st and 5th Marine Regiments. Goble was sergeant of the guard when the ship anchored off the island. They were the second wave so there was no resistance. Most supplies were offloaded from their ship. The men worked hard to do so. Goble witnessed a friendly aircraft flying in from the wrong direction being shot down by Allied antiaircraft fire. The pilot managed to land his damaged plane in the water near Goble's ship. The pilot was saved but the plane's gunner died. The Japanese shelled the airstrip the first night that Goble was on the island. Goble still managed to get some sleep but he was extremely tired. The next day, the outfit was moved out through a former battlefield called Bloody Ridge. The combat had lasted the three previous nights. Bulldozers had to be used to bury the enemy dead. There were about 800 Japanese bodies. Green flies were everywhere. Bodies were oozing up from the ground. It was terrible. Foxholes were hard to dig. The next day, Goble and his unit were sent on patrol to seek the enemy rear guard and snipers. Crossing a wide river on a pontoon bridge, two Japanese snuck up behind the last two Marines on the patrol and killed them. The next day, after climbing a ridge, Colonel Puller [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller] told his men to bed down and dig a foxhole if they could or seek low ground. Goble had to relieve himself and while he had his pants down, a bullet struck just under him. He immediately took cover in his hole. The next day, Japanese snipers were encountered and quickly taken care of. The day after that, Puller came to Goble and ordered him to get two other scouts and investigate the opposite side of the river to see if any Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] were there. As Goble was crossing the waist deep water, a bullet hit beside him. The Americans took cover behind the steep bank. When a bullet hit next to Goble again, he figured the sniper was above him. The sniper was finally eliminated by one of Goble's men and the platoon moved forward. No more opposition was encountered on that patrol. A defensive line was established. The position was held for two weeks and then another patrol was ordered through the jungle and open fields. Scouts observed two enemy soldiers cooking rice by a stream. The Japanese were surprised but escaped. Some of the advancing Marines ran into machine gun fire. Colonel Puller told Goble to scout ahead and find the enemy machine gun. Goble found it but because Puller saw it was getting dark fast, he withdrew his Marines. Those Marines ahead of Goble lost 13 men. The bodies had to be retrieved the next day. The enemy had retreated. Most of the time, Goble found himself going behind enemy lines to determine troop strength and deployment. For the next battle, Puller divided up his troops to surround the enemy. The Japanese ended up surrounding Goble's group. Goble found himself in a trap. Friendly destroyers picked up Chesty Puller and he directed the fire of the ship's five inch guns. They fired rapidly and the Marines withdrew to landing boats. A Coast Guardsman was firing suppressive fire at the Japanese. Goble's company was the last unit to escape. His company had no casualties, but there were 30 Marines killed during the action. The Coast Guardsman, Doug Munro, earned the only Medal of Honor for that branch of the service. [Annotator’s Note: US Coast Guard Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro rescued trapped Marines during the Second Battle of the Matanikau on 27 September 1942.] Munro was killed while holding enemy troops off the retreating Marines.