October 1943--Off the Coast of Casablanca

October 4, 1943--At 7 p.m., off Casablanca, Africa, eight German bombers bombed us.  We had two British escort planes, which were both shot down.  Each ship had 10 guns and the air was full of flack.  Three of the bombers were shot down but the rest got away.  Several ships were hit.  A bomb hit in the water between our ship and the next one, and threw up a geyser of water.  I saw one bomb hit the bridge of another Liberty ship near us.  A tanker was hit and set on fire, and it dropped out of the convoy.  We could see it back on the dark horizon as it burned. 

We were supposed to go to Sicily next, but when we got to the Island of Pantellaria, our orders were changed due to the hard fighting.  We had to turn back, and landed at Bizerte, Africa.  We had only four ships left in our convoy, so we anchored in the large, crescent-shaped harbor outside Bizerte. 

Editor's Note:  Casablanca was a critical strategic port during World War II, and hosted the Casablanca Conference in 1943, where  Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt met to discuss the progress of the war.  Casablanca was also the site of a large airbase, which served as the staging area for all American aircraft in the European Theater during World War II.

Personal Letter Home from Robert to His Family:  "October 9--Well, today is my birthday, but it sure doesn't feel like it.  Here I am in North Africa, and am getting along fine.  We had a hard trip over, but I saw many interesting things.  I have seen a lot of Arabs and little donkeys.  I live in a little pup tent with three other boys and sleep right on the ground."

F.D.R.and Churchill