Goff was the first county resident to lose his life in the Okinawa campaign.

Lawrence Eugene Goff was born in 1918 in Benton, Illinois to Dorsia and Delia Goff. He was raised and educated, along with a sister and two brothers in Franklin County, Illinois, where their father worked as a coal miner. After completing grammar school, Goff left school and went to work for an architect.

Lawrence enlisted in the US Army in Chicago on February 14, 1941. At that time he listed Franklin, Illinois, as his residence and noted that he was married. He received his basic and advanced infantry instruction at unspecified training centers. During this period his first marriage ended in divorce.

Following his training period, Goff was likely assigned to the 7th Infantry Division that was based at Fort Ord, California, between 1940 and 1943. He participated in the engagements at Attu and Kiska, Alaska, before returning to Fort Ord. It is possible that Lawrence met and married his second wife, Dorothy Ivey, at that location. The couple established residence in Watsonville where their daughter Joella was born.

Lawrence Goff and his unit were sent to the Philippines and participated in the invasion at Leyte Gulf. In March 1945 the 7th Infantry was moved into position for the invasion of Okinawa.

“The attack against Okinawa was launched on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945. Nobody suspected at the time that it was to be the last beachhead, indeed the last campaign, of World War II...The Division drove down to the hill mass dominated by Hill 178; again the Japanese threw down what seemed to be an impenetrable curtain of fire...After five days of grueling fighting the 184th secured Hill 178 and the surrounding terrain.”

On April 5, 1945 Private First Class Lawrence Eugene Goff, became the first casualty from Santa Cruz County in the Okinawa invasion. The location of his remains are unknown, but may have been returned to the United States about 1949.

(USCR, 1920 US Census, IL, Franklin; NARA2; WRP April 26, 1945 1:1; 7th Inf. Div, History, http://www.carson.army.mil/ UNITS/F7ID/F7ID_Historylong.htm, [16 September 2008])