Frank Cullens, Henry Davis, and Olin Dekle met for the first time on May 15, 1942. They were in Atlanta, not for a baseball game, nor a business meeting, but at Fort McPherson. The alphabetical sequence of their last names would bind the trio together for the next three and one half years. The men had left their homes in Laurens, Grady, and Thomas counties to fight for their country in World War II.

After a brief period of basic training the boys were assigned to the 172^nd Infantry Regiment of the 43^rd United States Army Division. In October of 1942, the 43^rd division was ordered to support the naval and marine operations at Guadalcanal. The division sailed on a fourteen-day journey to Espiritu Santo harbors in the New Hebrides Islands, now known as Vanuatu. On board the ship were 5,440 men along with tons of ammunition, equipment, and vehicles. Their transport ship was AThe U.S.S. Coolidge@ named in honor of former president, Calvin Coolidge.

Before the war, AThe Coolidge@ was a luxury passenger ship, designed to sail from San Francisco to the Orient. Panels of rare wood, silk drapes, and cathedral glass skylights adorned the interior of the ship, which was later stripped of its lavish furnishings and converted into a troop ship.

AThe Coolidge@ was completing its 7^th mission when it entered the harbor near Luganville. The division was scheduled to land at Santo to begin a staging operation for a relief mission at Guadalcanal. 1^st Lt. Web Thompson was standing near the bow. As he was admiring the harbor, he noticed a blinking signal light in the distance. The coded message was coming in too fast for him to understand. Other lookouts failed to understand the message that the ship was heading on a course which would take it directly into an allied minefield. Some call it Athe fog of war.@

Frank Cullens, a 25-year-old Laurens County farm boy, was standing on the promenade deck, not too far from the mahogany paneled dining room, which could seat up to 500 men. Frank soon noticed the horror of what was happening. It as 09:30 hours. An explosion rang out, followed by another. The ship began listing to the port side after it struck two mines. The second explosion killed fireman Robert Reid. The Captain ordered Aall engines stop.@ Below the deck, all lights and communications were out. Oil began leaking into the water. The crew and passengers were ordered to their stations. The Captain didn=t think the ship would sink. Lt. Thompson went below to check on his men. What he found was water rushing into a mass of darkness.

Captain Elwood Euart ran the ship aground in an attempt to prevent her from sinking. About 20 minutes later, the order came to abandon ship. Every life jacket and floatation device was gathered up. Two months of amphibious training helped the men to evacuate the ship in an orderly and disciplined manner. Began the ship was listing to port, the starboard ladders couldn=t reach the water. Boats were beginning to drift away. Frank was caught between a rock and a hard place. He never learned how to swim. He had no choice. When his buddies yelled out for ARed,@ he knew he would be safe. Most of the men got out in the last 20 minutes. An hour and 25 minutes after striking the mine, the ship came to rest on the floor of the channel. Just as ARed@ and his buddies reached the shore, he saw the last part of the ship disappearing into the water.

Captain Euart went down with his ship. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Capt. Warren Covill was on the ship when it slid off the reef. He managed to come to the surface in what was an air bubble. Miraculously only four soldiers and fireman Reid lost their lives. Many were cut and bruised after jumping from the ship. The men lost everything; their possessions, food, and equipment. They managed to save the clothes on their backs. Critical malaria medicine meant for the soldiers on Guadalcanal was under water, useless. The Seabees on the island lent the soldiers what they could.

The 43^rd stayed on the island for six months of training. The relief mission on Guadalcanal was delayed for weeks. By the time, Frank and his division reached Guadalcanal, the fighting was over. The 43^rd stayed there for another six months of training. Their first battle was in New Georgia. 2^nd Lt. Robert Scott, a member of 172^nd regiment, won the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism at New Georgia. His platoon was beside Frank=s platoon. Following 27 days of bitter fighting, Lt. Scott=s bravery in the face of heavy fire led his platoon to a strategic capture of a hill overlooking the Munda Airstrip. After the battle, Frank=s regiment was sent to Auckland, New Zealand for four months of rest. The 43^rd left on Christmas Eve in 1944 for the Philippines. In the winter of 1945, the division took part in the victorious re-occupation of the island chain.

When the 654 foot long AThe U.S.S. Coolidge@ sunk it was the second largest ship in the world. Luckily, it narrowly escaped one of the worst disasters in naval history. Frank Cullens was later promoted to sergeant. He lives in Laurens County today. His buddies, Henry Davis and Olin Dekle, still live in Cairo and Thomasville. They survived the ship wreck. Ironically, the shipwreck actually might have saved their lives. Had they reached Guadalcanal on time, Frank, Henry, and Olin may have been in the thick of one of the most violent and important battles in the South Pacific in World War II.

Today the wreck of the one-time flagship of the Dollard Line and American President line lies in one to two hundred feet of water. Tanks, jeeps, and tons of wasted military equipment are now home to hundreds of species of ocean life. Rows of toilets make good habitats of small animals. Scuba divers by the thousands come from all over the world to dive into Athe world=s most accessible shipwreck.@

Sources: National Geographic, April, 1988; Interview with Frank Cullens, November 2, 1998, AThe Lady and the President.@