"I Was One Of Them"

The story of the American hostages who spent 444 days in Iran is now more than a quarter century old and rarely told in the detail that it deserves. I should know. I was one of them. Because the 52 of us who suffered the ordeal now number only 42, I was excited to read Mark Bowden’s latest book, “Guests of the Ayatollah.” With many of us approaching our 60s, 70s and beyond, I had begun to believe the story would never be completely and properly told.

Most Americans believe the beginning of modern terrorism against the United States began Sept. 11, 2001. They are wrong. Some would suggest it goes back to the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, or perhaps the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, or to the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, where 19 U.S. servicemen were killed. Others might suggest the mid-1980s, when various Americans, including Terry Anderson, Thomas Southerland and Father Lawrence Jenco, an old friend of mine, were taken hostage by Hezbollah in Beirut. Or maybe we should go further back, to the 1983 Marine Corps barracks bombing in Beirut, where 241 U.S. servicemen were killed. Or the U.S. Embassy bombing there that same year.

I believe the era of modern terrorism began Nov. 4, 1979, when terrorists seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, took diplomats hostage, and demanded the U.S. government meet Iran’s conditions for our release. The threat of our trial and execution lasted nearly the entire 444 days.

What did we learn from the Iran hostage crisis? I am not sure. I do remember the wonderful celebration when we came home. It seemed we quickly put the crisis behind us. Col. Charles Scott, our military liaison officer and fellow hostage in Tehran, said it best: “We were Terrorism 101.” Perhaps the enemy learned more than we did.

Did we provide terrorist organizations around the world with that course in 1979 – a course in how the United States would respond to an act of terrorism, what the terrorist could accomplish and how helpless the United States appeared in resolving the crisis? Perhaps terrorists gained considerable insight into America’s handling of the Iran hostage crisis. Unfortunately, one could argue that terrorism works – until, of course, the terrorist encounters the professional U.S. military man.

That same year, late in the summer of 1979, Saudi national Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan to fight the Russians after they invaded. Bin Laden fought beside the mujahadeen, who later formed part of his al-Qaeda (Arabic for “the base”). I wonder how much the 22-year-old bin Laden, hiding in the Afghan mountains, learned by watching what the Iranians were accomplishing just across the border. More important, what did he learn from America’s response to having its embassy seized and its diplomats held hostage, even paraded in front of angry mobs? I have often wondered how President Truman would have handled the Iran hostage crisis. Would he have immediately attacked Iran or given the terrorist country a three-day ultimatum? Would President Reagan have negotiated for 444 days? I don’t think so.

To date, Iran remains – for the most part – belligerent, unrepentant and unpunished for its act of terrorism. However, Bowden did travel to Iran four times for “Guests of the Ayatollah,” and he discovered that several of our former captors regretted some of the actions in 1979. The crisis ushered in the era of Islamic fundamentalism as a direct and constant threat to the United States. From my point of view, we were the first victims of terrorism. Former hostage Rocky Sickmann, a tough Marine guard, recently said, “The day they took us is the day we should have started the war on terrorism.”

Prior to “Guests of the Ayatollah,” I thoroughly enjoyed “Pieces of the Game” by former hostage Scott, whose bravery is clearly portrayed in his book. Many other good accounts of the Iranian hostage crisis have been written by former hostages, including Sickmann, William Daugherty, Morehead Kennedy, Bruce Laingen, John W. Limbert, Barbara and Barry Rosen, Richard Queen and Kathryn Koob.

However, Bowden has written the most comprehensive account, and it is clearly the definitive work on the Iran hostage crisis. Anyone wanting to read an action-packed story or just learn a great deal about how America was held hostage for nearly 15 months will thoroughly enjoy the book. The story, unfortunately, unfolds by showing a befuddled President Jimmy Carter with his chances ruined for a second term by the crisis.

Before Bowden came to Rensselaer, Ind., to interview me for his book, the first thing I did was purchase his most famous book to date, “Black Hawk Down.” After reading the first few pages, I knew he would tell the story of the Iran hostage crisis and the Delta Force rescue mission from the point of view of the men and women who were on the ground.

In “Guests of the Ayatollah,” Bowden does an outstanding job of reconstructing our experiences as we lived them by painting pictures of each of us showing our strengths and weaknesses. He describes his characters with “warts and all.” He makes the book come alive with his crisp descriptions of our physical characteristics as well as our unusual personalities. The book is basically a story of terrorism and the human beings caught up in the situation. However, Bowden does not fail to add humor to the book. Several times I laughed so hard that I had to wipe my eyes as I tried to hold the book still. For example, the escape attempt of CIA officer Mel Kalp, who had great difficulty keeping his pants up during his daring escape while an unusually mean German Shepherd snapped at his heels, had me holding my sides.

Bowden makes the reader feel he is there in Iran, inside the cell with the hostages. I did not want to read the passages about the two who attempted suicide. Nonetheless, it is part of our story. Editing the book must have been difficult. A separate book could have been written about each of the 52 hostages – 53 counting Richard Queen, the hostage released early because of medical reasons. I desperately wanted to read more about some of my friends. However, I understand the writer’s space limitations. At 640 pages, the book is too short for me.

Bowden also illustrates the frailties of a couple of hostages, especially the youngest men, who were a little too eager to get in front of the cameras. The author describes how they appeared to provide propaganda for our captors. Bowden clearly describes Army Sgt. Joe Subic, the only soldier who failed to receive a medal upon his release and was observed as assisting the enemy. The young sergeant, unfortunately, was filmed with a Christmas card he had made for Ayatollah Khomeini, which looked embarrassing and silly.

Former hostages and professional soldiers – including Military Attaché Col. Leland J. Holland, Air Force Attaché Col. Tom Schaefer, Military Liaison Officer Col. Charles Scott, Air Force Lt. Col. Dave Roeder, Navy Cmdr. Donald Sharer, Navy Cmdr. Bob Englemann and Air Force Capt. Paul Needham – had no problems in distinguishing or determining their conduct. They knew from the get-go what would be required of them to survive the ordeal, and more important, how to hold their heads high if and when they returned home. They brought maturity and a solid knowledge of the U.S. military into their confinement, as most of them suffered worse conditions than the rest of us.

However, it is important to remember that each of us had to find ways of making it through the crisis. Often there was no one there to help you. No end to the ordeal was in sight. One had to rely on military training and even one’s upbringing for the fortitude and courage to make it to the end. We were not POWs, but hostages – a classification with absolutely no rights whatsoever, not even in the Geneva Conventions. Fear was almost constant in the early days of confinement. However, boredom set in and the minutes seemed to stretch into eternity. Those of us who suffered mock executions, beatings, interrogations, bad food, surly guards and the total confusion of “militant students” who overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, never considered ourselves heroes. The eight men who died and those who were seriously injured during Operation Eagle Claw are the real heroes. They undertook an almost impossible rescue mission. And to this day, we remember the sacrifices they made on our behalf and that of our country.

Bowden incorporates the entire rescue mission into his book. He mentioned to me that originally he had started writing about the rescue mission, then expanded the story to cover the entire hostage crisis.

I had the pleasure of meeting Col. Charlie Beckwith, Delta Force’s founder, at the White House after President Reagan welcomed the hostages home. Mark Bowden describes him as a “gruff, take-charge man.”

When I saw Beckwith, he appeared to be a large grizzly bear with white hair protruding from underneath his beret. He wore combat boots with his dress uniform pants tucked into them. This and the beret were sure signs of his Special Forces status. He stood tall only a few feet from me, where he was holding court. Although ladies were nearby, a solid stream of swear words poured out of his mouth as he puffed on a cigarette. Beckwith had an angry expression on his face and made quite an impression on the people around him.

I looked on in amazement. I thought if some of our poor Iranian guards had to come face to face with this grizzled soldier, they would probably have fainted.

The most difficult part of that day at the White House was meeting the eight families of those Delta Force soldiers who died on the rescue mission. I tried to thank them the best I could. I felt uncomfortable, as the country was celebrating our return and those families quietly stood by and watched the program. Many had small children.

As the hostage crisis continued, days turned into weeks and weeks into months. We hostages became an important part, especially politically, to the continuing Islamic revolution unfolding in Iran, to the mullahs’ consolidation of power and to the failed re-election bid of Jimmy Carter. I began to learn what a theocracy was, what an Islamic republic was, and I knew from the start that I did not want any part of their crazy world.

After my interview with Bowden, I thought, “Finally, we will have our entire story told.” I was not disappointed. As soon as The American Legion sent me an advanced copy of “Guests of the Ayatollah” and asked me to write an article, I opened the book and proceeded to read through the dinner hour that evening. I could not put it down. I learned more that day than I have during the past 25 years, since most of us were held in small groups of two to four and never saw the other hostages during the crisis. To this date, we have not all compared notes on our ordeal. Bowden has done that job for us. Some hostages, including Col. Tom Schaefer, Thomas Ahern, Michael Metrinko, Koob, Scott, Limbert, Daugherty, Kalp and others, spent considerable time in solitary confinement.

What Iran has gotten away with is criminal. Today, the nation is possibly our greatest threat in the world. We all understand what Iran could do with a nuclear bomb. You cannot let more than 25 years pass, then wonder why we cannot control Iran’s nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad preaches a steady stream of hatred. He often appears somewhat idiotic in his rants, which all confirm the suspicion that Iran is capable of an unprovoked attack against Israel, other Middle Eastern countries, Europe, and even the United States. It’s déjà vu as Ahmadinejad takes the hard line against the United States and appears to be consolidating the ruling mullahs’ power over any elected officials. That’s similar to what happened 27 years ago. Perhaps history does repeat itself. I don’t know.

Today, most of us former hostages are trying to sue the Iranian government for damages, but we have been blocked by the executive agreement President Carter signed to secure our release. This agreement, never passed by Congress but signed under duress by Carter, is still the law of the land. President George W. Bush consistently has opposed our case. More recent action to seek a remedy directly from Congress is at present under consideration. Twenty-five years after our release, many of us remain hopeful that some positive action will be taken on our behalf.

Nonetheless, we remain strong supporters of our U.S. servicemen abroad as well as patriotic Americans who are devoted to our country. I speak for a good many of us by saying it has been a privilege to have served my country.

Ummm.... not even close. Bin Laden arrived in Pakistan in the early 1980s. He spent almost all his time there at Peshawar. It wasn't until 1987 or so that he and some of his fellow arabs made their first adventure into Afghanistan.. I should point out they got their butts kicked by the Soviets and promply retreated back across the border to Pakistan.

FYI Mel Kalp, mentioned in this piece, was killed by a drunk driver in 2002. To survive all that, and then die at the hands of some idiot.

If ever there was a time for hard core gunboat diplomacy, the taking of the embassy and hostages was it – not the wimpy response we gave

Please note the Rick Kupke's book about his 444 days has not yet been published. It should to out within a year. It is Mark Bowdin's book that Rick is reviewing. Bowdin also wrote "Blackhawk Down".

I say the world terrorism started in the 60's when arafatty had is people hijack a bunch of jets to Jordan, then after getting paid to release his hostages blew up the planes.

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