In 1942, nineteen-year-old Bob Goebel left home to join the Army Air Corps. He progressed through Basic, Primary, and Advanced flight training, discovering his talent for flying. Graduating with his wings and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was assigned to a fighter squadron defending the Panama Canal. By spring 1944, he was headed to Italy with the 31st Fighter Group, flying the legendary P-51 Mustang. After completing 61 combat missions, Captain Goebel was credited with 11 victories in his Mustang before returning home in September 1944, just shy of his 21st birthday. His memoir offers a vivid account of the experience of flying and fighting as a World War II fighter pilot, shedding light on the often-overlooked 12th Air Force in Italy and the iconic P-51D, America’s ultimate piston-engine fighter. Following the war, Goebel attended college on the GI Bill, earning a physics degree from the University of Wisconsin. He returned to the Air Force, serving nearly thirty years and retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1966 after working on the Gemini launch vehicle for NASA. He later contributed to the aerospace industry, including the Skylab project. Now fully retired, he resides in Torrance, California.
