WHERE WERE YOU? 22 YEARS AGO TODAY: RONALD REAGAN BECOMES PRESIDENT, IRANIAN HOSTAGES RELEASED!

FREEPers Everywhere! ^

[Recovering_Democrat]

Hard to believe: 22 years ago today, Jimmy Carter finally had to let go of his miserable Presidency, and the Golden Era of Reagan began. Iran's fundamentalist islamists, knowing they would be turned into ash if they kept up their illegal behavior, released the 52 Americans they'd held for 444 days.

Where were you on this glorious day?

[nutmeg]

bump for later

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

Strapped into a A-6E Intruder with a full load of weapons, parked on Cat 2 of USS INDEPENDENCE, underway in the Indian Ocean, in Alert 15, ready to make sure the hostages were released.

(Bonus: The intel traffic was a hoot! The Iranian leadership was in such fear of President Regan that they couldn't change skivvies fast enough.)

[babylucas]

I was a high school senior in Bloomfield, CT, looking forward to college and Air Force ROTC. I was happy that Ronald Reagan would eventually be my commander-in-chief. As an aside, does anyone know how many (and which)countries fell to the communists while Jimmy Carter was president? I'm having a debate with a liberal at work.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Where were you on this glorious day?"

Cheering my butt off in front of a television set.

[BenLurkin]

I was working, on the road in San Bernardino. That night at a local "Bobby MGee's I asked the D.J. to play "Tie A Yelloew "Ribbon". (Yeah corny I know but it was an emotional event.) It was also the beginning of a very healthy time for America

[sam_paine]

Standing in a mud puddle at the inauguration. I still remember Nancy's god-awful neon red dress....that's about all I could see I was so far back. Never been to DC since. Never wanted to.

[qam1]

I was 10 and celebrating.

When I was 6 years old in 1976 I wanted Jimmy Carter to win because we had the same 1st name. The last time I ever rooted for a Rat.

When I was more mature at 10 I was upset with double digit inflation and the way Jimmy Carter was such a wimp with foriegn policy. The day during the campaign when Reagan called the Iranians Barbarians was the day I became a Republican.

[TAIPAN22001]

Amen!

[hobbes1]

Wow....I was still a wee laddie in skool!

[xsmommy]

grow up, ya big baby!

[ladtx]

I was a CH-47 instructor pilot at Hanchey Army Heliport, Fort Rucker, Alabama, breathing a huge sigh of relief that we now had a man of substance in the White House.

[twigs]

I was actually at the Capitiol, witnessing his inauguration. I remember the news sweeping the crowd before Reagan appeared that the hostages were about to be released. It was an exciting time. I was a democrat at the time, but lived just around the corner and wanted to witness a part of history. But I liked what I saw and eventually changed my ways!!

[twigs]

I was not in the ticketed section. I lived on East Capitol Street and just walked on over. Those were such easier times (to witness an inauguration) than today. I was in a ticketed section at Pres. Bush II's inauguration, and it was so much more difficult (for good reason). But it was wonderful, wasn't it?

[judicial meanz]

I was at sea on the US Navy submarine George C Marshall, making a deterrent patrol. We got the news by radio message on a long piece of white paper, which the cook was reading in the mess decks. I stopped by and looked over his shoulder and saw the headlines. Then I grabbed a snack and went on watch for the next 6 hours.

[VeniVidiVici]

I was home on leave from Germany. Made it to the "parade" when the hostages came to Washington. I have pictures (somewhere) of them pulling up in buses in front of the White House.

[AmericanInTokyo]

It was a bit of a cold day that day, wasn't it?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My son Jeremy was four years old when the Gip took office. He had a piggy bank that we couldn't get another coin into...
Our bank wouldn't write a CD for $100 but our Savings and Loan did. The $100 CD paid 20 percent interest.

[Rum Tum Tugger]

Curious Cat, that'd be some great stuff to turn into mpeg video for those of us who'd like to relive that day. Maybe you'd consider that...

I'll put it on my ToDo list. I've been intending to digitize it for preservation purposes. In MPEG-2 format, it should fit on 8 DVD's.

[Cosmo]

At the innauguration, of course....I was 10.
feel the gin