DOVER, Del. — The remains of a 33-year-old American soldier from New Jersey who was killed in combat in Afghanistan have been returned to the United States, arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble of Washington Township, New Jersey, was killed Monday in a roadside bombing in northern Kunduz province. The Taliban has claimed they were behind the attack.
Goble was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Pentagon has said Goble’s unit was engaged in combat operations in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, when he suffered fatal injuries.
Multiple U.S. officials, including National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended Wednesday what the military calls a dignified transfer in which the cases containing the remains are transferred to a vehicle from the aircraft that ferried them to the United States.
As of Christmas Day, nearly $90,000 had been raised in a GoFundMe campaign to support Goble’s family. New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to GoFundMe’s press office to verify the campaign’s authenticity and is awaiting a response.
“God bless every single one of you that have come to this page to show your support for Mike’s family, and have written messages of your condolences,” campaign organizer Lisa Barker wrote. “This is truly incredible, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I know that Mike would be beaming with gratefulness at the patriotism and generosity you’ve shown his family.”
She also wrote on the campaign page that Christmas Day, when Goble’s remains would be reuinited with his family, “will be one of the most difficult days of their lives.”
Goble left behind a daughter, Zoey, and his partner, Jen, according to the campaign’s organizers.
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