Thanks so much for your quick and very helpful response. I had already discovered the Contessa's Merchant crew list at Ancestry.com---a very pleasant surprise after a long search. I was also able to get ahold of the Armed Guard Action Report and a list of members through the National Archives. I haven't been able to locate a ship's log for the Contessa for its voyage to Morocco and back to N.Y., October thru December, 1942. I've also got my fingers crossed that I can find someone out there who sailed on the Contessa during WW II. The merchant crew, according to the port documents at Ancestry.com, was almost to a man older than the armed guard and came from many different nations. I'm assuming they will be very, very hard to find. The captain of the Contessa, which sailed for the Standard Fruit Co. out of New Orleans, was originally from Wales, Cpt. William H. John. The armed guard was officered by Lt. William Cato and, for the trip to Morocco, Lt. Commander Albert Leslie. Leslie was subsequently named as Port Commander at Port Lyautey (now Kenitra) in Morocco. I'd love to talk with anyone who has knowledge of the Contessa, Cpt. John, Lt. Cato, Lt. Co. Leslie, or the action surrounding Port Lyautey in Nov. 1942. Thanks again.
Tim Brady
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