The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea

The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea: Lying due north of Australia, New Guinea is among the world's largest islands. In 1942, when World War II exploded onto its shores, it was an inhospitable, cursorily mapped, disease-ridden land of dense jungle, towering mountain peaks, deep valleys, and fetid swamps. Coveted by the Japanese for its strategic position, New Guinea became the site of one of the South Pacific's most savage campaigns. Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division's Ghost Mountain Boys were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign: to march 130 miles over rugged mountains and to protect the right flank of the Australian army as they fought to push the Japanese back to the village of Buna.The 32nd Division lacked more than training. They were without even the basics necessary for survival. They waded through brush and vines without the aid of machetes. They did not have insect repellent. Without waterproof containers, their matches were useless, and the quinine and vitamin pills they carried, as well as salt and chlorination tablets, crumbled in their pockets. Exhausted and pushed to the brink of human endurance, the Ghost Mountain Boys fell victim to malnutrition and disease. Forty-two days after they set out, they arrived two miles south of Buna, nearly shattered by the experience. Arrival in Buna provided no respite. The 32nd Division was ordered to launch an immediate assault on the Japanese position. After two months of furious, sometimes hand-to-hand combat, the decimated division finally achieved victory. Reminiscent of classics like Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, this harrowing portrait of a largely overlooked campaign 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.

"Riveting....The Ghost Mountain Boys offers a new, harrowing world to explore." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)"Superb....The Ghost Mountain Boys is carefully organized, researched and written with great sensitivity and understanding." (Chicago Sun-Times)

• The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea--The Forgotten War of the South Pacific - Paperback

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  Rating

  4.5 (29 reviews)

  Publisher

  Three Rivers Press

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  Format

  Paperback

  Publish Date

  Sep 30, 2008

  Sales Rank

  44714

  ISBN

  0307335976

  ISBN-13

  9780307335975

  Edition

  Reprint

  Pages

  400

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  Product Description / Editorial Review

  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 — Source: Amazon

  

• Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea--the Forgotten War of the South Pacific - Paperback

  Price

  $14.95 $10.76 (28% Off) Buy from Barnes & Noble
  (as of 2013-06-12 16:22 PDT)

  Rating

  4.0 (9 reviews)

  Publisher

  Crown Publishing Group

  Shop

  Barnes & Noble

  Format

  Paperback

  Publish Date

  Sep 2008

  Sales Rank

  62070

  ISBN

  0307335976

  ISBN-13

  9780307335975

  Pages

  400

  Edition Description

  Reprint

  Biography

  JAMES CAMPBELL mounted an expedition to New Guinea to retrace the route of the Ghost Mountain Boys and discovered a wilderness almost unchanged in more than sixty years. He is the author of The Final Frontiersman and has written for Outside magazine as well as many other publications.

  Synopsis

  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

  
  — Source: Barnes & Noble

  

• The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea (Unabridged) - Digital Download

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  $24.99 $17.49 (30% Off) Buy from Audible.com
  (as of 2010-06-09 0:00 PDT)

  Publisher

  Tantor Media

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  Audible

  Format

  Digital Download

  Publish Date

  Jan 23, 2008

  Length

  10 hours 46 minutes

  Narrator

  Stephen Hoye

  Preview

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  Sign up AudibleListener® Gold and Download The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea (Unabridged) for Special Offer Price: $7.49

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  Lying due north of Australia, New Guinea is among the world's largest islands. In 1942, when World War II exploded onto its shores, it was an inhospitable, cursorily mapped, disease-ridden land of dense jungle, towering mountain peaks, deep valleys, and fetid swamps. Coveted by the Japanese for its strategic position, New Guinea became the site of one of the South Pacific's most savage campaigns. Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division's Ghost Mountain Boys were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign: to march 130 miles over rugged mountains and to protect the right flank of the Australian army as they fought to push the Japanese back to the village of Buna.The 32nd Division lacked more than training. They were without even the basics necessary for survival. They waded through brush and vines without the aid of machetes. They did not have insect repellent. Without waterproof containers, their matches were useless, and the quinine and vitamin pills they carried, as well as salt and chlorination tablets, crumbled in their pockets. Exhausted and pushed to the brink of human endurance, the Ghost Mountain Boys fell victim to malnutrition and disease. Forty-two days after they set out, they arrived two miles south of Buna, nearly shattered by the experience.Arrival in Buna provided no respite. The 32nd Division was ordered to launch an immediate assault on the Japanese position. After two months of furious, sometimes hand-to-hand combat, the decimated division finally achieved victory. Reminiscent of classics like Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, this harrowing portrait of a largely overlooked campaign 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. — Source: Audible

  

• The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea (Unabridged) - iTunes Audiobook

  Price

  $20.95 Download on iTunes
  (as of 2013-06-12 16:22 PDT)

  Publisher

  Tantor Media

  Shop

  Apple iTunes Store

  Format

  iTunes Audiobook

  Publish Date

  Nov 26, 2007

  Length

  10 hours 47 minutes

  Narrator

  Stephen Hoye

  Presented by

  Audible.com

  Product Description / Editorial Review

  Lying due north of Australia, New Guinea is among the world's largest islands. In 1942, when World War II exploded onto its shores, it was an inhospitable, cursorily mapped, disease-ridden land of dense jungle, towering mountain peaks, deep valleys, and fetid swamps. Coveted by the Japanese for its strategic position, New Guinea became the site of one of the South Pacific's most savage campaigns. Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division's Ghost Mountain Boys were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign: to march 130 miles over rugged mountains and to protect the right flank of the Australian army as they fought to push the Japanese back to the village of Buna.The 32nd Division lacked more than training. They were without even the basics necessary for survival. They waded through brush and vines without the aid of machetes. They did not have insect repellent. Without waterproof containers, their matches were useless, and the quinine and vitamin pills they carried, as well as salt and chlorination tablets, crumbled in their pockets. Exhausted and pushed to the brink of human endurance, the Ghost Mountain Boys fell victim to malnutrition and disease. Forty-two days after they set out, they arrived two miles south of Buna, nearly shattered by the experience. Arrival in Buna provided no respite. The 32nd Division was ordered to launch an immediate assault on the Japanese position. After two months of furious, sometimes hand-to-hand combat, the decimated division finally achieved victory. Reminiscent of classics like Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, this harrowing portrait of a largely overlooked campaign 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.
  
  "Riveting....The Ghost Mountain Boys offers a new, harrowing world to explore." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)"Superb....The Ghost Mountain Boys is carefully organized, researched and written with great sensitivity and understanding." (Chicago Sun-Times) — Source: Apple iTunes Store