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.

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.

Gerry Fostaty's profile page

"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."

<i>Quill & Quire</i>

We can learn from As You Were

by wheelerp

Gerry Fostaty has written an accurate recollection of the tragedy which occurred at the cadet camp at CFB Valcartier in 1974. This book is important today, more than 35 years later, because it illustrates the how traumatic military-related service can be, especially crucial now that many Canadian soldiers are returning from active duty in Afghanistan.

The book also raises the question of why the young Army Cadets who survived the terrible explosion and aftermath, were never encouraged or supported by the government to seek treatment. Hopefully, we as a country have learned more about PTSD and its devastating effects on our military and emergency services personnel and won't ignore the next generation afflicted with this disorder.

As a survivor of the explosion written about in As You Were, and as someone who has struggled with PTSD for the years since, I am pleased to see this publication. I hope that Fostaty's book will finally bring recognition to those who affected by the explosion at the Valcartier cadet camp - recognition to both the forgotten survivors and families of the victims, and recognition that PTSD among our military personnel needs our attention.

Such an interesting story

by Helshu

A wonderfully written book about a tragic time in Gerry's life. This would make a fabulous movie and I hope Gerry gets the chance to write it. He's good looking enough to act in it too.

A tragic story, beautifully written

by tcoles

Why was this story never made more public? After reading this I felt for the young mean that experienced this event and then had it swept under the carpet for all those years. Mr Fostaty was kind enough to join our bookclub for a night of discussion, stories, revelations and laughs. The book was very well written and was a pleasure to read though as mentioned, the story is tragic.
I look forward to Mr. Fostaty's next book.

Terry Coles