Forgotten Mission: The Untold Story of Augusta Force

by Stephen Graham, Marcia Graham

Begun in infamy, the Good War had been on for less than a year. Born in Iowa, a clean-cut all-American son of German immigrant farmers had a promising future as an investment banker in the Twin Cities. One night in June 1942, Russell Lowell Koerper, single, handsome, and self-assured, had the rug pulled out from under him. His comfortable, predictable world was about to be jettisoned as he was dropped from a C-47 into the forbidden, unknown, Jap-infested jungles of Papua New Guinea. General MacArthur had ordered a small allied force with Russ as its XO to carry out an extremely dangerous mission.

Russ and Augusta Force are plunged headlong into hostile territory. Unprepared for the formidable rigors of razor sharp kunai grass, swarms of mosquitoes, impassable swamps, raging rivers filled with crocodiles, deadly malarial fever, starvation, not to mention the ever-lurking Japanese, the men are quickly overwhelmed. Nerves fray, tempers flare and mistakes are made. Facing death at every turn, the coup de grace comes when it gradually dawns on them that theirs is a forgotten mission.

Caught up in the inescapable monstrosity of war and the dark underbelly of human nature, Russ’ faith is tested to the breaking point. He is forced on an inward journey to confront his own fears, insecurities and self-reliance. Witnessing both heroism and self-sacrifice throughout the ordeal, Russ learns to surrender himself to the Grace that rewards him with real friendships and, unexpectedly, even love with a wonderful Australian nurse named Bunny.

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2013

About the author

Stephen Graham is an academic and author who researches cities and urban life. He is Professor of Cities and Society at the Global Urban Research Unit and is based in Newcastle University's School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

Professor Graham has a background in Geography, Planning and the Sociology of Technology. His research centres, in particular, on:

•relations between cities, technology and infrastructure
•urban aspects of surveillance
•the mediation of urban life by digital technologies; and
• connections between security, militarisation and urban life.
Writing, publishing and lecturing across many countries and a variety of disciplines, Professor Graham has been Visiting Professor at MIT and NYU, amongst other institutions. The author, editor or co-author of seven major books, his work has been translated into eleven languages