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The Lady and the President

The Life and Loss of the SS President Coolidge. On 26 October 1942, whilst the bloody Battle of Santa Cruz was raging in the Solomons, another drama was unfolding 200 miles south.

The

by Peter Stone
The Life and Loss of the SS President Coolidge. On 26 October 1942, whilst the bloody Battle of Santa Cruz was raging in the Solomons, another drama was unfolding 200 miles south. The luxury liner SS President Coolidge, under contract to the US Army as a troopship, steamed toward the safe anchorage of the Segond Channel in Espiritu Santo. Two mine explosions, laid to discourage enemy attack, mortally crippled the liner. Captain Henry Nelson immediately ran the ship on shore to save as many lives as possible. Within 90 minutes the 654 ft luxury liner slipped off the coral reef and lay on the seabed, 100 feet below the surface. Of the 5,000 US infantry and crew aboard, only two were lost. But the demise of the President Coolidge begged a number of serious questions. Did Captain Nelson receive the special instructions that would direct him to the safe entrance and thus avoid the deadly minefield? Why was the ship allowed to travel unescorted when it was known that a Japanese submarine was in the region? Was Admiral Halsey covering up for the Navy's mistake? Whatever the answers, the US Army lost a valuable troop carrier in the early stages of the war when it needed all the equipment and facilities possible. More critical however was the stranding of 5,000 fighting men with no equipment and not even a dry pair of shorts. They were on their way to reinforce and relieve the Marines that had taken Guadalcanal only two months previous. How many American lives were lost in the bloody battles of the Solomons because of the lack of badly needed reinforcements? The Lady and the President answers these questions and gives a dramatic account of the loss of the ship, subsequent salvage of the propellers and bunker oil, and details of recent day scuba diving on the ï¿½world's largest accessible shipwreck'. Hard cover, 302 pages, black and white with some colour plates, size 19x26. Also available the video President Coolidge - see our video section to order.

Price NZD$ 69.50 (inc gst)
(excludes postage and packaging which will be added at checkout)

OUT OF STOCK
Contact Dive New Zealand to order this book: Ph: 09 521 0684.
Email: divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz