Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Group Photo – In the summer of 1985, I was an Army Cadet who successfully completed the Canadian Airborne Basic Parachuting Course, and the instructor I was assigned to was Captain Gaston Lortie. Whenever he walked in the door, we all straightened up out of respect. When he spoke to us, you could feel his passion for teaching and insistence on never accepting anything less than your ultimate effort. We all wanted to impress him, and I could not have asked for a better role model. In this photo, Captain Lortie is in the second row standing, third from the left - the only one in combat uniform - always one-of-a-kind, wherever he was. I will remember that day for as long as I live. I am sitting right next to Capt. Lortie on his left side, trying my best to look mean. Earlier that day, he learned that I was an accomplished hockey player and smiled, "Oh, you're a hockey player? Well then, you are already half as tough as necessary." His smile and sense of humor will always be with me. I salute you, sir.

Captain Joseph Gaston Laurent Lortie