Various materials pertaining to Eugene E. Eckstam, a Madison, WI native who served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve Medical Corps during World War II and survived the sinking of a landing ship by German torpedo boats during Exercise Tiger. Manuscripts consist of military papers, autobiographical essays, and copies of newspaper articles. Autobiographical essays and newspaper clippings document the sinking of Landing Ship Tank (LST) 507 by German torpedo boats off the coast of England during Exercise Tiger, the code name for training exercises in preparation for the D-day invasion. Included is a copy of a restricted order from the VII Corps headquarters mandating that all activities regarding the attack and sinking were not to be mentioned is included and documents the military cover-up of the event until after the success of D-day. Autobiographical essays also detail Eckstam's service on LTS 391 during D-day and also his service in the Philippines after being transferred to the South Pacific in 1945. Military papers consist of assignment duties and copies of discharge reports. Of particular interest is a manuscript map documenting the surrender of Japanese forces on Punay, Philippine Islands that records the movement of Japanese prisoners into POW camps. Photographs consist of two portraits, one showing Eckstam in uniform during the war and another showing him as a veteran. Other photographs pertain to Exercise Tiger and include an aerial photograph of 1st 507 from 1944, a photograph of a painting depicting the attack on an 1st by a German torpedo boat, a group shot of Eckstam and eight other survivors from the attack, and two images of memorial plaques dedicated to the attack.
