In 2013 I was president of the Association Française du Titanic and I visited New York in March and wrote to him explaining that I had served as an officer in the French Navy and how I had become atracted to Titanic. He agreed to meet me at my hotel, not far from Great Central Central Station. We had a pleasant hour together, being instantly at ease with each other, thanks to our common naval past. I offered him a copy of the Dictionnaire du Titanic that had been published the previous year and he was kind enough to praise my work. We met again in summer, in Paris, when RMS Titanic inc. organized an exposition there and we had time to tour the site together before it became open to the public. I feel very privileged to have met him, and was deeply struck by his passing in the wreck of the submarine Titan. I have spent a lot of time with French TV journalists, between 20 and 23 June, invited to comment with them the phases of the research and the dreadful final announcement of the fate of the crew members and passengers.
My sincere condolences to his wife and children.
François Codet, Captain F.N. (retd.) Chaville (France)