The Ghost Mountain Boys
In 1942, the little-known New Guinea campaign became one of the most brutal and unforgiving chapters of World War II. Amid impenetrable jungle, jagged peaks, and swamps riddled with disease, the U.S. Army’s 32nd Division—later known as the Ghost Mountain Boys—was tasked with an impossible mission: march 130 miles over treacherous terrain to support the Australian army and drive back Japanese forces entrenched in the village of Buna.
Ill-prepared and ill-equipped, the young soldiers faced starvation, malnutrition, and tropical disease before ever meeting the enemy. Matches dissolved in their pockets, quinine pills crumbled, and even basic tools like machetes were missing. By the time they reached Buna, the men were shattered in body and spirit—yet they were ordered to attack immediately. What followed was two months of ferocious combat, often fought hand-to-hand, until the exhausted division finally seized victory at a staggering cost.
Blending war diary, biography, and gripping adventure narrative, The Ghost Mountain Boys tells the forgotten story of a unit pushed beyond endurance in one of the harshest environments on earth. Reminiscent of Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried, it is a haunting portrait of courage, sacrifice, and survival in the Pacific theater.
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"The Ghost Mountain Boys joins the ranks of World War II neo-classics Band of Brothers and Flags of Our Fathers by ensuring that history will not forget those who suffered and sacrificed so much during the Papua campaign in New Guinea... Although it reads like a novel, The Ghost Mountain Boys is a thoroughly researched non-fiction book... It is doubtful that the battle for New Guinea will ever be remembered on par with famous Pacific campaigns. Fortunately, The Ghost Mountain Boys prevents the division's important victory from being forgotten in the desolate wilderness of New Guinea. Readers will find that James Campbell's attempt to honor the Ghost Mountain Boys is more intimate, more poignant, and perhaps more appropriate, than a mere granite monument.
U.S. Naval Institute
Watch the Ghost Mountain Trailer here to experience James Campbell’s discovery expedition in Papua New Guinea in 2006.
Hear more from James Campbell on NPR
“Sometimes you see it written in a fiction review that the geographical setting is as much of a character in the novel as the actual characters. This observation can be extended to nonfiction as well, for in James Campbell's superb The Ghost Mountain Boys, the island of New Guinea is one of the most fearsome characters you will ever want to come across, in fiction or real life…The Ghost Mountain Boys is carefully organized, researched and written with great sensitivity and understanding.”
Chicago Sun Times
“Riveting... The Ghost Mountain Boys offers a new, harrowing world to explore.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
