When five-year-old Robert Crouse saw a 1910 Curtis pusher biplane fly over his hometown in Tennessee, he was immediately mesmerized. After he watched the plane gently land behind the trees a short distance from his house, he informed anyone who would listen that one day he would fly a plane just like that one. In his memoir "There I Was ..., " Crouse chronicles how his fascination with airplanes grew throughout his childhood and eventually led him on an unforgettable journey as a young airman during World War II. When Crouse was a seventeen-year-old high school senior, the United States became firmly embroiled in World War II. Although he was too young and suffered from a congenital heart condition, Crouse could hardly wait to get into uniform. As Crouse recounts the details of how he was eventually drafted in 1943 despite his medical challenges and later flew thirty-one missions in B-25s, he provides a real-life glimpse into what it was like for thousands of young men to serve their country in perilous times. "There I Was ..." couples historical photographs with personal anecdotes and provides a captivating narrative sure to entertain World War II and airplane buffs alike.