As this past May 30, 2026, marked the 240th Anniversary of the Laperouse’s Landing in Maui, Hawai’i, the heroic and humanitarian exploit of French Royal Navy officer and Pacific explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (1741-1788) along with his sailing crews and scientists; and the 32th Anniversary of the Friends of Laperouse USA Memorial I had the honor to establish at Laperouse Bay, Maui, Hawai’i, on May 30th, 1994, under the patronage of The French Embassy in Washington D.C., The French Consulate General (closed in 1995), and The Australian Consulate General in Honolulu, in collaboration with Maui County under the leadership of then Mayor Linda CROCKETT LINGLE, and Pardee ERDMAN, owner of the Ulupakalua Ranch, who donated the land and monument to the Friends of Laperouse USA, while we donated our own commemorative plaque and organized the entire 1994 Maui celebration; and major Honolulu institutions including The University of Hawai’i (see article UH PACIFIC CIRCLE NEWSLETTER no. 14 March 1995 Page 9/17 below); The East-West Center; The Alliance Française; Queen’s Hospital; and Maryknoll School.

And so, as I fondly remember the official ceremony, which took place in the presence of the Marine nationale under the leadership of Rear-Admiral Jean-Marie VIRIOT, then naval attaché at The French Embassy in Washington D.C., and Lt. Augustin d’ARCO, commander of the French patrol vessel La Tapageuse, which sailed from Papeete, Tahiti (French Polynesia); Ambassador Murray COBBAN, then Consul General of Australia in Honolulu and Mrs. Maureen COBBAN; Philippe de LAPÉROUSE, the eldest son of the late Comte Bertrand de LAPEROUSE, of the DALMAS LAPÉROUSE branch, the senior line which inherited the name of his illustrious ancestor as well as his place as a distinguished member of The Society of the Cincinnati France.

I would also like to pay a special tribute to some of my old Friends of Laperouse USA who have been so supportive of my lifetime work and 0n-going crusade (since 1990) to better honor the little known Lapérouse as a great navy officer, explorer and all-around humanitarian; and who, sadly, have now passed, including, in America: the late Dr. Victor KOBAYASHI, Dean of Summer School University of Hawai’i at Manoa; the late Robert GOUYETES of Kihei, Maui; the late legendary journalist and Hawaiian activist Bob KRAUSS, then the star columnist of the Honolulu Advertiser (today the Honolulu Star-Bulletin); the late Siegfried RAMLER, born in Vienna, Austria, who served as interpreter at The NUREMBERG Trials and founder of the Alliance Française in Honolulu (1961); the late Leslie “Uncle Les” KULOLOIO Hawaiian Leader and Activist, Honua’ula and Hamakuapoko (Wailea and Makena), Maui; the late Mary EVANSON, Founder of the Friends of Haleakala National Park, Maui;  the late Alexa BETTS BASINGER, former president of The Maui Sister Cities International; the late Pierre MOULIN of Honolulu; the late Joëlle DUMAS, Founder and Director of Ecole Claire Fontaine Schools in Venice, California.

And in France: the late Dr. Pierre ALMARIC, world-famous ophtalmologist, resistance fighter during WWII and medical historian, founder of The Association du Vieil Alby and of The Lapérouse Museum in Albi (1988); the late Ambassador Antoine FRASSETO, then Consul General of France and Ambassador of France to the Marshall Islands and Micronesia in Honolulu; the late Marie-Christine PESTEL of Albi and, last but not least, my friend the late Henri BRU, historian and professor at the Lycée Lapérouse in Albi.

With our warmest congratulations and best wishes of success to Admiral CLUZEL in his new, highly challenging mission.

In solidarity with the Marine nationale and the U.S. Navy,

Elisabeth Jenssen Founder & President

Friends of Laperouse USA

Chair, #MDFDE/FriendsOfLaperouseUSA/FrenchNavy400/USA250

Chair, #MDFDEFriendshipMerciTrain80

Member of L’Equipage de Laperouse Albi – France

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Related links: 

Admiral Cluzel is the New Head of the French Navy