Anthony Henry Goebel
Military
Scanned photo.
Object Number - UPL 28560 - Miss Genny Cloud P-51D Mustang HO 414-819 G
With the World at War, Anthony H. Goebel (age 24) felt compelled to enlist in military service and reluctantly left his young, wartime bride to join the US Army Air Corps in 1942. After qualifying to become a pilot, Flight Cadet Goebel completed two years in Officer Candidate School/Flight training where he competed with the 'best of the best' and graduated (from Jackson Mississippi) to earn the highest possible (and most coveted) assignment – single-engine fighter combat.
Tony was then assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron ("Meyer's Maulers") of the 352nd Fighter Group (which Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering contemptuously called those “Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney”) within the 8th Air Force of the United States Army Air Corps.
He was immediately deployed overseas, steaming across the 'pond' (Atlantic Ocean) on the RMS Queen Mary (converted to a troopship), Anthony was first based at the airfield in Bodney England where he became good friends with William "Bill" T. Whisner Jr. and shared private Officers' Quarters re-purposed from an unused storage room.
He flew 36 combat missions in his North American P-51D Mustang: "Miss GENNY CLOUD" - named after his first wife Miss Genevieve Cloud. Having survived many deadly engagements with enemy aircraft in large dogfights (often called "fur balls"), the sum of his partial kills (credit shared with other pilots) totaled: two and a half Me 109's (Messerschmitt Bf 109) and one Me 262 (German jet).
Lt. A. H. Goebel flew numerous escort missions protecting bombers that attacked enemy factories, V-weapon sites, submarine pens, and other strategic locations on the Continent.
He also flew counter-air patrols, and on many occasions strafed and dive-bombed airfields, locomotives, vehicles, troops, gun positions, and various other targets.
After the Germans launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes in Dec 1944, the group's planes and pilots were sent to Asch Belgium and placed under the control of the Ninth AF for operations in the Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945).
During this time, while “Miss GENNY CLOUD” was under repair, military records document that Tony scored (2) 1/2 kills of Me 109’s while flying Bill Whisner's "Moonbeam McSwine" 44-14237 on December 27th, 1944.
The superior capabilities of the P-51D (in both range and performance in aerial combat) decimated the German offensive. In desperation, Germany launched Operation Bodenplatte (Baseplate) on 1 January 1945, as an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces. The goal of Bodenplatte was to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge so that the German Army and Waffen-SS forces could resume their advance.
During that battle, action by the detachment earned for the group the Croix de Guerre with Palm: just as 12 of the detachment's planes were awaiting permission for take-off on an area patrol, the Aerodrome was attacked by approximately 50 German fighters; in the aerial battle that followed (now referred to as the "Legend of Y-29"), the 352nd shot down almost half the enemy planes without losing any of its own.
AWARDS: Distinguished Unit Citation with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal (3 OLC), Croix de Guerre, EAME Medal (4 Bronze Stars), WWII Victory Medal.
Post war: Anthony received a Presidential Citation and an Honorable Discharge - and finished his military career in the Reserves where he was offered a promotion to Captain upon re-enlisting (which he respectfully declined). After separation, he continued to fly as a private/commercial pilot.
He married his 2nd wife, Marianne, and had 3 children. He joined the Experimental Aircraft Association and flew aerobatic exhibitions of a home-built Benson Gyrocopter for over 10 years performing flight demonstrations at the Cleveland National Air Show, Oshkosh Wisconsin, and the Sun & Fun Fly-in in Florida.
As a master machinist, retired from Westinghouse after 25+ years of service in Cleveland Ohio, he has built/rebuilt a multitude of aircraft over the decades including: Taylor Craft, Stolp V-Star, Kit Fox, Lazair, etc...
Upon retiring to NC (for the warmer climate), Tony trained new pilots as an instructor of the Lazair Ultralight aircraft throughout his early nineties.
Until his death on July 14th, 2018 (at 101 years of age) Anthony remained active in VFW Post 9010 and participated in numerous Veterans' events to Honor his fallen comrades by sharing his personal experience as a P-51D fighter pilot (he was always grateful for his opportunity to serve at the time when it was needed most).
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with

- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter

- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
People

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 27th Air Transport Group 352nd Fighter Group 310th Ferry Squadron 487th Fighter Squadron Headquarters (352nd Fighter Group)
- Service Numbers: T-190907 / O-886778
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 487th Fighter Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Assistant Crew Chief "Miss GENNY CLOUD"

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 328th Fighter Squadron 487th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-441842
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 487th Fighter Squadron Headquarters (352nd Fighter Group)
- Service Numbers: O-396294
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 486th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-826755
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant General
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
Aircraft

- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Moonbeam McSwine
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 487th Fighter Squadron

- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Miss GENNY CLOUD
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 487th Fighter Squadron

- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Miss Genny Cloud
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 487th Fighter Squadron
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Ambridge, PA 15003, USA | 7 July 1917 | |
Enlisted |
Baltimore, MD, USA | 5 October 1942 | |
Other E/A destroyed |
Germany | 27 December 1944 | 2 Me109's destroyed in Germany. 27-Dec-1944. F/O Anthony H Goebel credited with (2) 1/2 kills, one at 10:55-12:15, and the other at 11:00-11:30 - Both while flying HO-W 44-14237 "Moonbeam McSWINE". |
Other End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
Bodney, Thetford IP26, UK | 8 May 1945 | Victory in Europe: May 8th, 1945 Ended Tour of Duty (ETD). |
Other Discharged USAAF |
25 December 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
Kernersville, NC 27284, USA | 4 September 1980 - 14 July 2018 | Moved to Clemmons/Kernersville NC after retirement to enjoy the warmer climate . | |
Died |
Winston-Salem, NC | 14 July 2018 | Passed away peacefully in his sleep at Kate B. Reynold Hospice Home (Winston-Salem, NC), surrounded by loved ones. |
Other Promotion |
England, UK | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. | |
Other Promotion |
Bodney, Thetford IP26, UK | Promoted to Flight Officer. | |
Pennsylvania, USA | |||
Other Promotion |
Camp Kilmer, NJ, USA | Promoted to Captain (contingent upon re-enlisting) and later divorced his 1st wife "Genny" due to her infidelity during their wartime separation. | |
Other Graduated flight school |
Graduated/Awarded wings. | ||
Based |
Bodney | Assigned to 487FS, 352FG, 8AF USAAF. Based Bodney, Asch and latter Chievres Begium. | |
Cleveland, OH, USA | 3 September 1980 | Met, and married, his wife Marianne in Cleveland Ohio where they raised 3 children. |
Revisions
Captain promotion was awarded to encourage re-enlistment - which he declined.
Correction allowing for the possibility that "MISS Genny Cloud" and "Miss GENNY CLOUD" are the same aircraft after extensive repairs and a repaint.
Thank you, Lucy May
A.H. Goebel was promoted to Captain at the end of his combat assignment in Europe.
Submitted by Son.
Son
Scanned photo.