Overview
SUMMER, 1974 — Six teenaged boys died and fifty-four were injured in an explosion on a Canadian Forces Base in Valcartier, Quebec. A live grenade inadvertently made its way into a box of dud ammunition, and its pin was pulled during a lecture on explosives safety. One hundred and forty boys survived, each isolated in their trauma, yet expected to carry on with their lives. Thirty-four years later, Gerry Fostaty, who was an 18-year-old sergeant that summer and one of the first on the scene after the explosion, received an unexpected email from his former sergeant-major, triggering a journey into memory, a quest for a true picture of what had happened on that day. In As You Were, Fostaty pieces together the story of how a series of preventable mistakes led to tragedy. The only full account of an event that received minor attention at the time, As You Were is the story of a normal day turned horrific, how duty, responsibility, and honour make ordinary people take extraordinary measures, and how an embarrassed military did their best to ignore this devastating incident.
Full Product Details
Author: Gerry Fostaty
Publisher: Goose Lane Editions
Imprint: Goose Lane Editions
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.30cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.304kg
ISBN: 9780864926487
ISBN 10: 0864926480
Pages: 198
Publication Date: 01 April 2011
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Written in a clear, engaging voice and never descends into sensationalist finger-pointing... a cogent and provocative reassessment of a tragic incident the DND has done little to address. - Paul Challen - <i>Quill & Quire</i> - 20121108
Written in a clear, engaging voice and never descends into sensationalist finger-pointing . . . a cogent and provocative reassessment of a tragic incident the DND has done little to address. -- Paul Challen, Quill &; Quire
""Written in a clear, engaging voice and never descends into sensationalist finger-pointing... a cogent and provocative reassessment of a tragic incident the DND has done little to address."" -- Paul Challen * <i>Quill & Quire</i> *
Written in a clear, engaging voice and never descends into sensationalist finger-pointing . . . a cogent and provocative reassessment of a tragic incident the DND has done little to address. Paul Challen, <i>Quill &; Quire</i> - 20121108
Author Information
Gerry Fostaty spent six years as an army cadet, climbing the ranks until he became an instructor. Leaving the cadets at 19, he became an actor, working on stage and in film and television for more than 20 years. He now works as a marketing manager at an information technology company. He lives in Aurora, Ontario.
