Julian David Goell was born on 15 Apr 1912 in Brooklyn, NY and died on 7 Oct 1944 as the result of hostile action in WWII. His parents were Charles Goell (1879-1954) and Ida Armour (1883-1939). Per the 1930 Census, his father was a construction worker, his mother was a housewife and the family lived in Manhattan, NY. Julian had 2 older sisters, was a high school graduate and was not married. It is not known where he worked prior to entering the Army.

Julian registered for the draft on 16 Oct 1940 in New York City and enlisted in the Army at some later date as a private in the infantry. At some point, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, but it is not known when or where this occurred. His service number was O-1325886. Nothing could be found on his early time in the Army. At some point he was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. The 5th ID was reactivated on 16 Oct 1939 at Fort McClellan, AL. In the spring of 1940, the division was sent to Ft. Benning, GA and then on to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN in May 1940. It continued training in Michigan, Arkansas. In Apr 1942, the 5th ID departed New York for Iceland. They were moved to England in Aug 1943 for the eventual invasion at Normandy, France. The 5th ID landed at Utah Beach on 9 Jul 1944 where they quickly entered combat. By 30 Aug 1944, they had driven through France and had taken up positions near Verdun where they prepared for the assault on Metz, France. On 7 Sep 1944, a bridgehead was secured across the Moselle River south of Metz, but it could not be held. The German held Fort Driant played a role in the bridgehead failure. The 10th Infantry Regiment attempted a second bridgehead at Amaville which was successful. The 5th ID continued combat operations around Metz from 16 Sep – 16 Oct 1944 where they encountered extremely heavy fighting. On & Oct 1944, 2LT Goell was listed as missing in action during this fighting and his remains were not recovered. He was declared Killed in Action on 8 Oct 1945, a year and 1 day after his disappearance which was military policy at the time.

At some point in time many years later, remains were discovered in the area where 2LT Goell had disappeared. The remains were positively identified to be those of 2LT Goell. His remains were repatriated to the US and he was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery (Section 60, Grave 8019 and 8020) in Arlington, VA on 30 Nov 2001. No explanation could be found for this. His Arlington headstone at Grave 8019 also bears the name of Technician 5th Class Leano who was also a member of Company B, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. It is possible that both sets of remains were discovered at the same time, which is why they were buried together at Arlington, but this could not be confirmed. 2LT Goell is also memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing at the Lorraine American Cemetery in Lorraine, France and at the Acacia Cemetery in Ozone Park, NY. 2LT Goell was awarded the Purple Heart.

Source: Together we Served