July 19, 2008
GHOST MOUNTAIN BOYS

I recently read an interesting book on the 32nd Division’s campaign to take New Guinea during the Second World War. The Division was comprised of National Guardsmen from Wisconsin and Michigan, along with draftees from all over.  It is an incredible story of bravery and fortitude.  For a thorough description of the book, see: Ghost Mountain Boys.  The site provides the following overview of the book:

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 the rugged Owen Stanley Mountains and to protect the right flank of the Australian army as they fought to push the Japanese back to the village of Buna on New Guinea’s north coast.

Comprised of National Guardsmen from Michigan and Wisconsin, reserve officers, and draftees from across the country, the 32nd Division lacked more than training—they were without even the basics necessary for survival. The men were not issued the specialized clothing that later became standard issue for soldiers fighting in the South Pacific; they fought in hastily dyed combat fatigues that bled in the intense humidity and left them with festering sores. 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. The ferocity of the struggle for Buna was summed up in Time magazine on December 28, 1942, three weeks before the Japanese army was defeated: “Nowhere in the world today are American soldiers engaged in fighting so desperate, so merciless, so bitter, or so bloody.”

Why am I plugging the above book? Well, as a lead-in to my plug for Whitefish Bay’s own Armory Park. This project deserves our support. If you haven’t already contributed to the project, please visit: http://armorypark.net/ and consider a contribution.



The project is designed to recognize the contributions of volunteer citizens that served and sacrificed for our country. The veteran’s monument and memorial gardens will pay tribute to veterans of all wars, honor their service and provide a place for remembrance and reflection. The structure will also serve as a memorial to the 32nd Division and Wisconsin’s “iron brigade.” Finally, the veteran’s monument and memorial gardens will be designed to fit well with athletic field renovation planned for the armory’s former location. The site is appropriately adjacent to the 32nd Division Memorial Highway (or what we know as Highway 32).

August 21, 2008
BIG BAY PARK AND THE WPA

I just obtained a book entitled, “Milwaukee County Parks” – part of the Images of America series*. It includes a lot of interesting pictures of the development of the Milwaukee County Park System. One particular photograph caught my eye, a picture of the stairs at Big Bay Park in Whitefish Bay:

The caption states that the stairs were constructed in 1940 using WPA labor. The Works Projects Administration (WPA) was established by Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 as part of his ‘New Deal’ efforts.

I’m sure that most of us that live in Whitefish Bay are familiar with these stairs – however it has been a long time since it has looked anything like the above image. The comparable view today looks like the following:


It’s still a nice way to walk down the bluff, when the mosquitoes aren’t in season. But it’s disappointing that the walk hasn’t been more carefully maintained over the years.

The walk contains some interesting views, although the area could be improved by some prudent pruning of the foliage.


There is a natural flow of water through the area, which transverses a small ravine. Interestingly enough, when the retaining wall area at the base of the bluff was rebuilt a few years ago, no apparent provision was made to deal with the stream. As a result, the water flows over the walk way, creating a muddy mess.


I’m hoping to encourage the Milwaukee Parks Commission to maintain the area better. Otherwise the community will lose this significant asset. The first step will be to add this site to the Village’s architecture and history inventory.

* “Images of America: Milwaukee County Parks,” by Laurie Muench Albano, Arcadia Publishing, 2007