Col. Vincent Joseph Goulding, Jr. Usmc (Ret.)

Col. Vincent Joseph Goulding, Jr., USMC (Ret.) died on September 15, 2023 at the age of 74 at UPMC Carlisle Hospital. He recently celebrated his 46th wedding anniversary to Gayle C. Goulding, his beloved bride and the only person who could get him on the dance floor. Born on July 2, 1949 in Flushing, New York, he was the son of the late Vincent Joseph and Eileen Crossen Goulding.

He served as an infantryman in the U.S. Marine Corps for 30 years, including command at every level from platoon to Marine Barracks. He proudly served as the Battalion Commander of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines (America’s Battalion). His final active-duty assignment was Marine Corps Representative at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA. Following retirement, Vince became the Director of Experimentation at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, VA.

He was regarded as one of the Corps’ preeminent thinkers on warfare. As Director of Concepts Division, he was the principal author of Operational Maneuver From The Sea (OMFTS) and Ship To Objective Maneuver (STOM). Retiring from the Lab, he continued as a thought leader with contributions to Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Parameters, and the Marine Corps Gazette.

Vince loved his girls (Eileen and Kathleen), their husbands (Parish and Ryan), and grandchildren (Charlotte, Riley, Jay and Finn). In retirement he enjoyed quiet mornings fly fishing on the Yellow Breeches, reading, golfing, and landscaping (wandering bunny beware!). But perhaps the thing he most loved was building indestructible sandcastles with his grandchildren — or really any activity with them at all.

A brother, William Goulding (Stevie) of Naples, FL and a sister, Patti Goulding (Davy) of Atlanta, GA also survive him.

He was a man for all seasons and those lucky enough to know him well were the beneficiaries of his fierce loyalty and unconditional love.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of Vince to the Semper Fi & America’s Fund by visiting their website at https://thefund.org/donate/. Further details about funeral arrangements and interment will be announced at a later date.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Hoffman Funeral Home & Crematory, 2020 W. Trindle Road, Carlisle, PA 17013.

To sign the guestbook, please visit www.hoffmanFH.com.