ARKANSAS CITY, Kan., Oct. 14, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dec. 7, 1941 was an infamous day in American history. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor awoke a sleeping giant and thrust it into a conflict that threatened to engulf the world. But thanks to millions of ordinary heroes, the forces of Hitler and Hirohito were thwarted. The new book, I Was There When the World Stood Still (now available through 1stBooks), gives author K. Ray Marrs's firsthand account of that day and the subsequent war.
"I Was There When the World Stood Still is a first-person account of how the attack on December 7th, 1941 put the dreams and aspirations of an 18-year-old Kansas farm boy on hold for four years and 20 days," Marrs says.
Reeling with the shock of that fateful day in December, Marrs and the rest of the world jumped into action. Only 9 months later, he recounts how he and 15 other young men fresh from high school graduation joined the Navy V-5 Flight Training program. He recalls how, after months of training, he was called into active duty on Feb. 2, 1943.
Marrs provides exciting personal accounts of his single plane missions in battle flying a seaplane and later in North Africa and England flying a new PB4Y-1. Many of those missions were spent as part of a group known as "the Subhunters." Marrs flew numerous anti-sub missions over the course of nine months, during which he garnered some scary and exciting stories.
I Was There When the World Stood Still is a harrowing account of how one ordinary farm boy was transformed into a hero. "This is a story of how my life was changed by global conflict that change the way we live. Millions of people on this planet had similar experiences but no one lived my personal experience," Marrs states.
After the war, he returned to his hometown of Arkansas City, Kan., and started a farming operation with his wife. I Was There When the World Stood Still is his first book.
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