John J  Gobbell - email  

Upon graduating from the University of Southern California, John was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served as a deck and ASW officer aboard the USS Tingey (DD 539), a revered Fletcher-class destroyer and battle of Leyte Gulf veteran. He did a WESTPAC cruise and fought the battle of YANKEE STATION forming a protective destroyer screen around the carrier USS Hancock (CVA 19) in the South China Sea.

In civilian life, John sails in Southern California yacht racing regattas. In younger days he skippered in the Long Beach Yacht Club's Congressional Cup, one of the most prestigious match-racing regattas featuring skippers from around the world, including America's cup stand-outs.

Professional Career

Most of John's career has been in executive recruiting. He was with KPMG  Peat Marwick as a consultant for three years. And then for ten years, he was a Vice President Boyden Associates, Inc., a large New York City based international executive recruiting firm. He then founded THE GOBBELL COMPANY in Newport Beach, California where he works on a retained basis with corporate clients to find senior executives. During a concentrated time of developing and presenting candidates for military aerospace clients, John became fascinated with advanced technology, weapon systems, and the executives who build them. Recently he was the Director of Development for the USC Catholic Center, located at the University of Southern California. There, he worked on a $35.0 million capital campaign to build a new Romanesque church and student center on campus.

John and his wife, Janine, also a USC graduate, live in Orange County, California.

ARTICLES

Military.com, one of the nation's largest on-line magazines (circulation 8 million), asked John to do a piece on the Surender Ceremony aboard the USS Missouri (BB63) on Septmeber 2, 1945. In the research phase, compelling stories surfaced that show our leaders of the time looked far into the future. The way the ceremony was structured and the instrument of surrender were unprecedented; this marvelous legacy remains with us today. Please find the article at this link.

Mix and Match - How a Fletcher Class Destroyer Became a DDG Overnight 

This article was published in the Tin Can Sailor quarterly newsletter and is basically a coming-of-age reminice of John's WESPAC cruise aboard the destroyer USS Tingey (DD 539). Please find the story at this Link.

NOTE: All photos are official U.S. Government photographs unless otherwise specified.

A CALL TO COLORS

Published by Random House-Presidio Press, this work features Commander Mike Donovan, skipper of the destroyer USS Matthew. With General MacArthur's 165,000 troops just ashore to begin the Philippine liberation, Donovan finds himself embroiled in what becomes the Battle of Leyte Gulf - the largest naval engagement in the history of mankind. It is available wherever books are sold.

WHEN DUTY WHISPERS LOW

The third book in the Todd Ingram series, WHEN DUTY WHISPERS LOW, is about the shoot-down of Japanese CinC, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in 1943. It debuted in 2002; the soft cover came out in 2004. This work is now available on Kindle.

You Can find this title at Amazon.com for Kindle

A CODE FOR TOMORROW

The second Todd Ingram book, A CODE FOR TOMORROW, is about the 1942-1943 naval battles for Guadalcanal with Ingram as the executive officer of the destroyer USS Howell (DD 482). It was released by St. Martin's in hardback in 1999; the soft cover, in 2002. It is now available on Kindle.

You Can find this title at Amazon.com for Kindle