444 days of the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the aftermath

The Hostage Rescue Attempt In Iran, April 24-25, 1980

We'd like to thank David M. Roeder, who at the time was a 41 yr old Lt. Col. from Alexandria, VA. He was Deputy Air Force attaché at the Embassy when it was overrun. He has spent years making sure "his" embassy guards and personnel received appropriate recognition. In this time of frauds, phonies and wannabees, he asked that we note the January 2001 recognition so they are NEVER labeled as anything but legitimate. For NOW, only the Marines have been awarded the POW medal.

The criteria for the P.O.W. medal requires NO declaration of war and only that you be held by "an opposing foreign force."

The Short History:

Six American diplomats avoided capture when the embassy was seized. For three months they were sheltered at the Canadian and Swedish embassies in Tehran. On Jan. 28, 1980, they fled Iran using Canadian passports.

On 14 November 1979, President Jimmy Carter ordered frozen all Iranian assets in U.S. banks.

 The release on 19 and 20 November of 13 hostages who were either black or female did little to alleviate the crisis. Although the Shah had left the United States for Panama in early December, the militants refused to release the remaining hostages which numbered 53.

An unsuccessful attempt on 24 April 1980 by U.S. special operations forces to rescue the hostages resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen during Desert One, Iran. Five more were injured when an RH-53 helicopter collided with a C-130 transport in a failed rescue attempt to free U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran. The incident and aggravated the hostility between the two countries.

 The subsequent death of the Shah in July had no effect on the status of the hostages. In November, however, the Iranian revolutionary parliament set four conditions for their release; no U.S. interference in Iran; the unfreezing of Iranian assets inside and outside the United States; the cancellation of all trade sanctions against Iran; and the return of the Shah's property. Algeria was named as the mediator, and an agreement was signed in January 1981. 

Of the 66 who were taken hostage, thirteen women and African-Americans were released on Nov. 19 and 20, 1979; one was released on July 11, 1980, because of an illness later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis and the remaining 52 were released on Jan. 20, 1981.

One survived, to be killed in an auto accident.
(these notes are used only to show a sampling of what the captives went through)

This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 4/8/2002. The story was written by Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff

.....  Kirtley was a lanky 6-foot, 3-inch corporal fresh out of Marine security-guard school at the Quantico base when he arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Aug. 8, 1979.......

Kirtley had gone off duty at midnight on Nov. 3, 1979, and was in the living quarters across from the embassy with one of his Marine roommates when the hand-held walkie talkie in his room crackled, indicating an emergency.
He threw on his uniform and they raced to the top of their eight-story building for a glimpse of the trouble.
There were Iranians all over the place, Kirtley said.
Soon, the protesters invaded the living quarters and began kicking down doors. Kirtley radioed back for instructions.
Lock the door and if they kick the door in, we want you to surrender, he was told.
Within 20 minutes, he was walking across to the compound, his hands clasped atop his head, a pistol pointing his way.

Three times, Kirtley expected to die.
The first came on his initial day of captivity. He was blindfolded, bound at his wrists and marched in front of one of the 28-acre compounds brick buildings. He stood there as an angry crowd of Iranians jeered.
Then, after what seemed like an eternity, his captors walked him back indoors without explanation.
That was probably my good excuse for being cooperative, Kirtley said of his attitude thereafter.
The second threat of death was the 2 a.m. mock firing squad in February 1980.
The third came four months after a botched April 1980 rescue attempt by U.S. forces.
The hostages had been dispersed throughout the country and were in the process of being reunited. Kirtley and three other captives were being driven from the city of Isfahan, about eight hours southwest of Tehran, back to the capital when the van they were in flipped three times along a desert highway.
Kirtleys first thought was of death. His second was of freedom.
Neither came.
After several minutes of confusion, the captors got the situation under control and the journey continued.

Passing the time
A few weeks into their captivity, the Iranians allowed the hostages access to books seized when an American school in Tehran closed. But they still could not speak to one another not for another two months.
Then they were given games to keep them occupied playing cards, poker chips and pieces for chess and checkers.
Fresh air was harder to come by.
On average, the hostages got one hour in a small enclosed space once a month. At one point, they went four months without going outdoors.
That was tough for a long-legged Marine who hated sitting still. He began walking in circles in the room he shared with three to five men to keep from going stir crazy.....

 http://content.fredericksburg.com/news/Local/Stafford/0114host.htm  written by PAMELA GOULD of the Free Lance-Star

Skeletons in the Closet

17 Years Ago This Week
By Sue Schuurman

 ... Hostages Reveal Iran Torture.

"The emancipated hostages told of beatings and other atrocities at the hands of the Iranian captors today as they telephoned their loved ones back home."

"One said ... he was told by Iranian interrogators ... that his mother had died. He didn't learn that she was still alive until the freed captives reached Germany this morning.

"As they began a stay of several days at a U.S. military hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany, most of the 52 hostages talked with their families for the first time in 445 days. ...

"Col. Leland Holland, 53, security chief of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran ... 'spent a month in what he called the "dungeon" and said his captors were S.O.B.s,' said the colonel's mother. 'He said his house was ransacked and everything taken, including his watch and rings. They took all the furniture and clothes.'

"A spokesman for the family (of Duane 'Sam' Gillette) said: 'His treatment was at times disgusting. I think President Reagan was polite when he termed the Iranians barbarians. We know that his letters were covering up what the real
situation was. There was no physical torture, but there was psychological pressure. The food wasn't good and the conditions were very poor.'

"And the family of Malcolm Kalp said ... 'He told us he was beaten by them and placed in solitary confinement because of his escape attempts.' He served from 150 to 170 days in solitary. ...

"Returnee David Roeder, 40, of Washington, D.C., said, 'I've never been so proud to be an American in all my life.' ...

"Outside the hospital ... the crowd ... broke into a chant of 'U.S.A., U.S.A.' Only 12 hours and nine minutes earlier, the two women and 50 men hostages flew out of Iran on an Algerian jet to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards' jeers of 'Down with America' and 'Down with Reagan.' ... "

Source: The Albuquerque Tribune; Jan. 21, 1981

Walker was among nine people released after 20 days in captivity. The remaining hostages were held for 444 days.

Prisoner of War Medal Award Authority:

SEAL the envelope containing the bracelet/letter. Stamp and address ONLY with the name. We will complete the address and forward.

Mail the sealed, stamped letter in another envelope to:

P.O.W. NETWORK
Box 68
Skidmore, MO 64487-0068

Hanoi Jane Fonda