THIS DAY IN POLITICS FDR arrives in Morocco, Jan. 14, 1943

 

On this day in 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived in Morocco to join British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for a 10-day conference in Casablanca that mapped the course the allies would pursue in fighting World War II and that demanded the “unconditional surrender” of Nazi Germany and Japan.

In crossing the Atlantic in a Boeing 314 Flying Boat dubbed the Dixie Clipper, Roosevelt became the first president to travel on official business by airplane. At the time, FDR was a frail 60-year-old chief executive, with little more than two more years to live. He was persuaded to make the arduous 17,000-mile round trip by air because Nazi U-boats remained on the prowl. FDR arrives in Morocco, Jan. 14, 1943 - POLITICO