1Robert Muldoon Forty years ago, a 21-year-old, Corporal Robert Muldoon, stepped ashore in Vanuatu for two years of service in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He learned French, acted as an interpreter, and stayed at the home of a French farmer. Last week he emerged as the lead defender of the French in New Caledonia at a South Pacific Forum meeting that was determined to push for New Caledonian independence.