"Unexpected Peril: The Sinking of SS President Coolidge"

The SS President Coolidge was on a seemingly routine mission, transporting soldiers to the Guadalcanal battlefront on October 23, 1942. As the troop transport ship approached the Second Channel of Espiritu Santo Island, a shore-based signal station urgently transmitted a Morse code message: STOP.

Unbeknownst to the ship's captain, they had unknowingly entered a minefield, ironically laid by American forces months earlier. The signal officer relayed the critical message, prompting the captain to immediately halt the engines. However, the momentum from cruising at full speed propelled the Coolidge forward until a violent explosion rocked the vessel, quickly followed by a second blast. In a desperate bid to reach safety, the captain steered toward the shore. Tragically, the ship struck a coral reef merely 100 yards from land, causing it to list dangerously.

Below deck, 5,050 soldiers from the 43rd Infantry Division’s 172nd Infantry Regiment and the 103rd Field Artillery Regiment hurriedly climbed to the deck. As the ship tilted, ropes were thrown overboard and lifeboats were deployed. Crew members, including 340 crewmen and 50 Navy guards, coordinated the evacuation, while some soldiers, hesitant to enter the water, were forcibly encouraged by a naval officer’s stern command: "Kick men in the face to get them off!"

In a remarkable stroke of fortune, the Coolidge took over an hour to sink, enabling a relatively orderly evacuation. Most of the 5,440 people aboard managed to reach safety by swimming to the nearby sandy shores or by being ferried on rafts and rescue boats. Although the soldiers lost all their equipment and the sailors lost their vessel, nearly all hands survived this harrowing ordeal.

Remarkably, only two lives were lost in the incident. The ship’s captain was later exonerated by a board of inquiry and went on to command another vessel. The SS President Coolidge, now a relic of war, lies submerged at a depth of 230 feet off a small Pacific island, a poignant underwater testament to the unpredictable perils of wartime naval operations.

Original Story: Kevin Hymel 2006