10/27/2025
Sailors and Soldiers escape the sinking troopship President Coolidge, off Espiritu Santo in October 1942. Like so many of her time, the President Coolidge was an ocean liner that was modified into a troop carrier for the war effort.
A large military base and harbor had been established on Espiritu Santo and the harbor was heavily protected by mines. Information about safe entry into the harbor had been accidentally omitted from President Coolidge's sailing orders, and on her approach to Santo on 26 October 1942, President Coolidge, fearing Japanese submarines and unaware of the mine fields, tried to enter the harbor through the largest and most obvious channel. A mine struck the ship in the engine room, and moments later a second mine hit her near her stern.
Captain Henry Nelson, knowing that he was going to lose the ship, ran her aground and ordered troops to abandon ship. Not believing the ship would sink, troops were told to leave all of their belongings behind, under the impression that they would conduct salvage operations over the next few days.
Navajo (AT-64) during rescue operations
Over the next 90 minutes, 5,340 men from the ship got safely ashore. There was no panic as they disembarked; many even walked ashore. However, the captain's attempts to beach the ship were thwarted by a coral reef. President Coolidge listed heavily on her side, sank stern first, and slid down the slope into the channel.
There were only two casualties in the sinking. The first was Fireman Robert Reid, who was working in the engine room and was killed by the first mine blast. The second, Captain Elwood Joseph Euart, 103rd Field Artillery Regiment, had safely left President Coolidge when he heard that there were still men in the infirmary who could not get out. He returned through one of the sea doors, successfully rescued the men, but was then unable to escape himself and went down with the ship. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions. A memorial to Euart is on the shore near the access pointsfor the Coolidge. In 2013, Euart's body was reportedly located by a local dive guide, and a message was sent to the Australian High Commission, who then passed this on to US authorities in Hawaii. An American recovery team arrived in February 2014, and working with local operators, they found Euart's remains after 73 years, still with his dog tags and personal items, inside deep silt in the bottom of the wreck. Subsequent DNA testing of the remains matched with Euart's relatives, and his family was advised that the US military would perform a full military funeral service and that he would be buried with his parents
The loss of critical equipment being carried in President Coolidge, forcing redistribution of scarce local stores, combined with loss of the ship when shipping was critically short, delaying deployment of the 25th Division from Hawaii to the theater, complicated logistics during the crisis at Guadalcanal. President Coolidge also held 591 pounds/268 kilos of quinine, at that time the entire stock of quinine held by the US.
