I had it that way to begin with...but all of that, starting from that paragraph that you mention are also on the back cover of the book and I wanted to add a personal precursor on the inside. Should I just do away with that precursor?
Personally I think it weakens the importance of the event and you should just lead into it.
You could include a final paragraph briefly describing your involvement and how it happened, and end with the "The time has come for this author to tell that story. ".
Did you consider a stronger word than "Stand" like "Battle" or "Conflict" or "Struggle" or "Standoff" or "Encounter"?