Naval Air StationPort Lyautey, Morocco

The following photographs are from the personal collection of Jerry (Gerald J.) Zimmerman who served at NAS Port Lyautey between 8/2/47 to 4/15/48. Copies of these photographs may be obtained in a larger format by contacting Jerry at Jerdadzim@cs.com. Former shipmates of Jerry may also contact him at the same e-mail address.

Photographs of Casablanca

The bridge on the north/south roadway to Casablanca

A beach scene at Casablanca

The Casablanca Military Cemetery above was a "few" miles south of Casablanca, far enough that it was necessary to take a taxi ride to get there. My choice was one of the horse carriages seen waiting for me at the front gate. I do not recall the fee but it was never considered expensive. For future, dependable service, in Port Lyautey, Rabat and Casablanca, it was advisable to tip well because the sometimes limited, available teamsters had memories of their customers like elephants!

Most if not all the servicemen buried in this well cared for cemetery lost their lives during the days following the November 8, 1942 Operation Torch invasion. Flags of three Nations fly over the Casablanca Military Cemetery: the USA, Canada, and England.

My reason for visiting the cemetery was to find and locate the grave of Walter Clifton Luttrell. Walter was the brother of my folk's next door neighbor back in Wisconsin. (Read the details of this cemetery visit in Jerry's letters.) Mrs. Piering had asked if I would try to find and honor her brother, Walter's grave, who was killed in action on the Moroccan beach. The young lady in the picture is Helene Dumas, a French resident of Rabat. She accompanied me as my interpreter and stands in front of Walter's grave. Months later, Walter's family chose to have his body returned home. He is now buried beside his wife Mary in Liberty, Kentucky's Popular Grove Cemetery. Please click here to read the account of Jerry's visit to the Luttrell gravesite and the subsequent return and reburial of Walter Clifton Luttrellin Liberty Kentucky.

Cathedral of Sacre Coecur - Although it stands empty in 2007, the Cathedral can be found at the far end of today's Parc de la Ligue Arabe. It was built in a European style, but also adopted traditional Moroccan forms. In recent years and before becoming vacant, it had been used as a school, theatre and cultural center.

I confess that the few times I visited Casablanca as a 19-year-old I was not as interested in the city's landmarks and its history as I was of Rabat. My recall is the building above was part of the city government's complex.

Other than most buildings and homes were white, Casablanca had a different "feel" about it than Rabat. As seen above the streets were very busy and filled with more civilian, bicycle, and automobile traffic. I had expected to see some sky scrappers, but the downtown's business buildings were of modest height. The sign on one of the above buildings reads, "Citroën," a French automobile manufacturer founded in 1919 by André Citroën. Today (2007) it is part of PSA Peugeot Citroën. and its headquarters are in Paris.

I enjoyed the slow, clip-padie-clop horse buggy rides about Casablanca. For me it was the perfect, intimate way to sit back, almost hidden from view, and let the atmosphere of the mixed Arab and French cultured, ocean seaport city soak into my soul.

More than a snapshot! In 1947 when I photographed this Casablanca monument I had no idea who the honored person was. I simply thought it would make an interesting picture. 60 years later (2007), and with the help of the internet, I finally learned who Charles de Foucauld was. He was born in Strasbourg on September 15, 1858 and died in 1916. He became a French army officer in 1876. Later he became a Trappist monk, and an explorer of Morocco. His final years were spent in North Africa, most of them in the middle of the Sahara, where anti-French rebels assassinated him on December 1, 1916. In 2005 he was beautified by Pope Benedict XV1 and is considered a martyr of the Church.

General Lyautey monument within a Casablanca park bearing his name in 1947. My guess would be that both are no longer there.