In the center of the park. Marker

A concrete cube about 3 feet tall inscribed on the top.

The memorial remembers Captain Elwood Euart an officer in the 103^rd Field Artillery in the 43^rdInfantry Division.  Captain Euart died while saving fellow soldiers while the SS President Coolidge sank in the Espiritu Santo Bay.  Euart was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for his actions on October 26, 1942.  The SS President Coolidge hit a mine while entering the port and today is a famous site for scuba diving. Espiritu Santo was a major US Naval Logistics Port during WW2. 

Author James Michener (US Navy) was stationed on Espiritu Santo Island during the war and the island is the setting for his book “Tales of the South Pacific"  and later the inspiration for the musical “South Pacific”. 

The Citation on Euart's DSC reads:

Captain (Field Artillery) Elwood J. Euart (ASN: 0-374388), United States Army, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 103d Field Artillery Battalion, 43d Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 26 October 1942. Captain Euart lost his life after helping to save a number of other men at the time of the sinking of the U.S. Army Transport PRESIDENT COOLIDGE. Learning of a group of soldiers trapped in the hold, he went to their assistance. By lashing himself to the lower end of a rope he was able to hold it tight enough for men to climb to safety, even though the ship was listing badly. When he finally attempted to climb the rope himself, assisted by a few men at the top, it was hanging almost vertically. As he climbed, the ship careened and sank. Captain Euart's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty at the cost of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 43d Infantry Division, and the United States Army.

Captain Euart was listed as missing in action and his name included on the Tablet of Missing at the Honolulu Cemetery and Memorial.  In 2016 his body was recovered and identified and he is now buried at his home cemetery in Rhode Island.