The Ghost Mountain Boys

Book excerpt: A harrowing portrait of a largely forgotten campaign that pushed one battalion to the limits of human suffering. Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division’s “Ghost Mountain Boys” were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign in World War II: to march over the 10,000-foot Owen Stanley Mountains to protect the right flank of the Australian army during the battle for New Guinea. Reminiscent of the classics like Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, The Ghost Mountain Boys is part war diary, part extreme-adventure tale, and—through letters, journals, and interviews—part biography of a group of men who fought to survive in an environment every bit as fierce as the enemy they faced. Theirs is one of the great untold stories of the war. “Superb.” —Chicago Sun-Times “Campbell started out with history, but in the end he has written a tale of survival and courage of near-mythic proportions.” —America in WWII magazine “In this compelling and sprightly written account, Campbell shines a long-overdue light on the equally deserving heroes of the Red Arrow Division.” —Military.com