François Flohic (; 2 August 1920 – 5 September 2018) was a French

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

and associate of General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. Born in

Ploubazlanec Ploubazlanec (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. Historically its economy relied on fishing. Fishermen in the 19th century and early 20th century went to Iceland aboard sailing ships called '' ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, he joined the

Free French Naval Forces The Free French Naval Forces (, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistice and the Appeal of 18 June, Charles de Ga ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He saw action escorting Atlantic convoys and took part in the

D-day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings at Normandy, and in the course of his career eventually rose to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. After the war, he served as an advisor and aide-de-camp to de Gaulle, whom he had first met in 1943. He published several books of memoirs, including ''Ni chagrin ni pitié : souvenirs d'un marin de la France libre'' (1985) and ''De Gaulle intime'' (2010). He was named a Commander of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, and awarded the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit. Flohic was portrayed by actor

Frédéric Pierrot Frédéric Pierrot (born 17 September 1960) is a French actor. Career He has appeared in more than 120 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film '' Tell Me I'm Dreaming'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

in the 2009 television movie ''Adieu De Gaulle adieu''.

References

1920 births 2018 deaths French Navy admirals Free French Naval Forces officers French military personnel of World War II Commanders of the Legion of Honour Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite People from Côtes-d'Armor {{France-mil-bio-stub