Empty Casing: A Soldier’s Memoir of Sarajevo Under Siege

When Canadian soldier Fred Doucette found himself deployed to Bosnia as a peacekeeper in 1995, he had a premonition that this tour of duty would be different from any other he had experienced. And so it was. In Sarajevo, imposing and maintaining peace between two warring factions was an impossible task, one that took an enormous toll on both residents and peacekeepers. A never-ending barrage of mortars, artillery, and sniper fire devastated the city, killing thousands. When the war ended, Doucette returned to Canada, where another war began. Nightmares and flashbacks plagued his days and nights. Traumatized by the horrors of Bosnia, and with no foreign posting to divert his attentions, Doucette had to face himself, his family, and his army once again. Empty Casing is the brutally honest and compelling story of the making and unmaking of a soldier, and the growth of a man.