European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 15, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse To find sailors who made it j fifty years after exercise Tiger Eugene. Ekstam is still seeking fellow survivors. A this is my Hobby in retirement a said Ekstam 75, of Monroe wis who was a Navy lieutenant Junior Grade and a newly qualified medical officer on the list 507. Eccl stamp a ship was the first one in his Convoy hit by a German torpedo. There were 450 men on Board and More than half of them died he said. He recalls hearing shots feeling the boat lurch and then hearing creaking Metal. A we had to leave the ship after 30 minutes be cause of the heat a Ekstam said. A the ship got so hot it was like walking Barefoot on hot tar. The ship burned for about three hours before it a first Aid station was set up on the ship and Ekstam went below deck to Check whether anyone needed help. A when i opened the Hatch Guys were screaming Yelling and hollering Quot Ekstam said. A once i realized i help the Guys i closed the a the boat was torpedoed in its Side and ammunition and gasoline that was stored below deck exploded and caught fire some of the men were badly burned and missing limbs. Medical supplies on the ship were inadequate to do anything for these men Ekstam said. He closed the Hatch in order to protect the watertight integrity of the ship an action that gave him nightmares for years once in the water Ekstam said he had to swim through dead bodies to reach a life raft. One of the rafts occupants had a broken leg and no one else was being allowed to climb on Board because of fears that it would capsize Ekstam said. Ekstam tied himself to the raft and drifted in and out of consciousness until he was rescued by list 515. A i feel real Lucky to be alive a Ekstam said. Ekstam said he owes his life to Navy lit John Doyle the Captain of list 515, who apparently disobeyed orders and returned to the ambush site to Rescue men. A. Ayears after the incident Ekstam met the Captain of the expat that torpedoed his list. A i have no bitterness toward him a Ekstam said. A the was hired to do his a 1 la waver Ekstam does no to Feci As forgiving about the Allied blunders that night or the secrecy that followed. A after a Day there was no reason to keep it quiet a Ekstam said. A we did no to after the Freedom of information act that Communia Lions were not passed on. I fee very bitter that the ,. Commanders did no to get together on radio frequencies and that there Wasny to any synchronization of what to do if such a thing should happen. The High Eugene Ekstam command did no to get Nancy l. Torner a. A a a a a a. .����. A a a. A amps Dave Didio , no Venham prepares to drop a Wreath while at left Jody Barnes Dave Rubin and Diane Rubin dead brother and bitter memories e Velyn Brannock was 5 years old when her family received a Western Union Telegram from the . Army informing them that their son and brother pvt James Cottrell was missing in action. A i remember my Mother going out behind the garage and wanting to die Quot said Brannock 55, of Perry Kan. A Cottrell was with the 3206th quartermaster so div assigned to list 531 during exercise Tiger. He was 20 years old. The Telegram arrived on May 11, More than two weeks after Cottrelly a Convoy was attacked by German a boats. Attempts to obtain More information about How Cottrell went missing were futile. The family continued to seek information about Cottrell after the War Brannock said. A letters were sent to my dad in 1945 and in 1949 from the department of the army that said they had no details they could disclose a she said. Then in 1987, Brannock a local newspaper published an article about Ken Small a resident of Tor Cross England who had erected a memorial to members of exercise Tiger. The Story also gave details about the a boat incident. A then i started researching a Brannock said. Brannock exchanged numerous letters with Small and Learned that some of the men who died during exercise Tiger were buried at the american military cemetery in Madingley just outside Cambridge. She soon made travel arrangements to visit the cemetery a this Cottrelly a name is on the Wall of the missing a Brannock said. A it was. There since 1956. Pm a Brannock said her parents died without knowing about exercise Tiger or that their songs name was on the Wall of the missing at the Madingley cemetery. 1 Nancy l. Torner Evelyn Brannock Errick Willcocks can still visualize the night Portland Bay was lit up As Bright As Day despite the blackout and was filled with Long lines of trolling minesweepers searching for bodies of . Servicemen whose ship were torpedoed during exercise Tiger. Willcocks 69, a British resident of Little common on England a Southeast coast was Manning one of the minesweepers for the Royal Navy he was called to duty Early in the morning on april 28, 1944. �?o1 saw bundles on the water which turned out to be bodies Quot Willcocks said. A some were tied up with wreckage. We searched All Day but we did no to pick up any bodies were retrieved from the water with a boat Hook and then a we reverently Laid them out on the Quarter deck a Willcocks said. A some ships had piles of bodies.�?�. Willcocks also manned a minesweeper on a Day Clearing the Way to Omaha Beach for . Ships. He started his journey on june 4, Only to be called Back to port because of severe weather he said. He was dispatched again the afternoon of june 5, and this time there was no turning Back. A we did no to expect to make it a Willcocks said. A a lot of people were praying that night who were not used to Derrick Willcocks Nancy l. Torner Pace 6 sunday May 15, 199-1
