Posted on 07/31/2010 3:07:40 PM PDT by george76
A shortage of spaces in long-term care facilities for veterans will mean an unlikely reunion at an Ottawa hospital room this weekend for a group of Canadians and Americans whose lives intertwined 30 years ago during the Iran hostage crisis.
John Sheardown, who was the Canadian Embassy’s chief immigration officer in Iran during the hostage crisis, is hobbled by an injured hip, suffering from dementia and unable to get a bed in a long-term care facility for veterans.
So when his former colleagues gather to mark the 30th year since they took six U.S. officials into their homes and helped them escape capture, they’ll be paying a visit to Sheardown at the Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus.
"I have no way of knowing what would have happened had he not taken us in," said Mark Lijek, one of the Americans who escaped after hiding in Sheardown’s house for three months from November 1979 to January 1980.
Sheardown’s situation has left his wife, Zena, upset the government isn’t taking better care of the Second World War veteran, especially at a time when his former colleagues gather to celebrate what is now known as the Canadian Caper.
The Sheardowns were with the Canadian Embassy in Tehran when Iranian students and supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, taking most of the Americans in the compound hostage and setting off the Iran hostage crisis.
Six Americans managed to escape, and after some negotiations between the Canadian Embassy and the federal government, the Sheardowns took four of the hostages into their home while Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran, took two.
(Excerpt) Read more at vancouversun.com ...
This sucks. And we owe this guy.
Surely we can find a place for him until Canada is willing to do so.
I agree. This guy put his ass on the line for Americans. We need to do the same for him.
Bring him down here.
I agree.
As a Canadian I get some grief on discussion boards when I “stick my nose in American politics”. I guess liberals don’t like foreigners commenting on what an awful job obama is doing.
but I know I can always count on fellow Conservatives to show support. Thanks for showing support for this guy, when our Healthcare system’s shortcomings are exposed.
cheers
The U.S. government awarded Taylor the congressional gold medal, the only Canadian to have ever received the award
Well, how do we help him?
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