19 79, iranian student storm the American Embassy in tehran. Everybody thinks it will be an overnight affair, but it will not. music , this is the story of a traumatic crisis that lasted 444 days and ended in january 1981, a personal drama about 51 american men and two american women. We will be with you, hopefully, as soon as we can. Their crime was being associated with the u. S. Embassy in tehran, the punishment total incarceration. This will be an inside view, with exclusive iranian shot footage never seen before. When did you arrive in iran . September 19, 1979. I think today is the 19th of january. This was founded by yesterday. Here showing the area they motor pool was behind the main gates, to the right was the chancellor the operation have that houses the communications systems. Way behind past some fails, was the two story building. It is completely sealed off in the compound. The students apparently new facts they had Standing Orders not to shoot, to make sure that the women as the attackers overran the area rain surgeon lucas who was stationed at the compound heard the news on his walking talking. It happened so fast as soon as i heard the transmission i got up and i looked at the people behind me and theyre already people running. The heavy doors had been folded shut in size were 45 americans, the marines fired tear gas to fight time. , when it was realized that help was in the coming, one trying to persuade students to leave. He was immediately captured the iranians had radios, jamming transmissions. The land lines, the telephones were impossible to get through because by the time the basement had been the students broken by breaking a basement window. This was all watched from the safety of his office from the compound. He was in regular contact with the besieged diplomats. Letting him know what was occurring on the roof of the embassy, people very early on managed to get on the roof, cutting cables, taking down antennas, pulling down the american flag. The students now threatened to shoot the captured american. This is Security Camera related the chilling scene inside the chancery. The people in the chancery had been told was the students just wanted him to come out and they would hold them for an hour or two. They were trying to make a statement about the shaw being allowed into the u. S. And continuing to stay in the u. S. We are not with ordinary people, american officials. We are opposite your government. With no help coming, the staff retreated 4 x 4. One person went out and was immediately blindfolded and bound and threatened with death. The americans surrendered. While this was happening 10 americans had locked themselves in the security vault, shredding confidential documents on the orders of the person who is at the ministry. There were people outside the vault door itself. We instructed the people to install that as long as they could in order to complete the Destruction Program in the vault, but when they reported they had done that, we told them to go ahead and surrender. There were still many secret documents locked away in his office, and he had the key. Later this would come to haunt the americans. None of these details were known to the americans hiding on the underside of the compound, which was walled off from the rest of the grounds. All they knew was the chancery had been overrun. The head of the consular section, dig more field. About 3 30 it was clear help was not going to be coming from the iranians. We heard people on the roof and began to smell smoke as they burned their way through the ceiling. Somebody then threw something through the window. He heard a crash. They put a ladder to the window and demonstrators tried to come in. I kicked open the door and came in so quickly, screaming my full head off, i shocked him iranian coming to the window in a bit of a panic, didnt know what to do because he saw made walking towards him and gary lee standing behind me with a shotgun, and he proceeded to scramble out the window as fast as possible. I popped a grenade and was getting ready to throw it out the window, then this head on the other side looked up to see if the coast was clear, and the grenade chose that moment to go off right in his face. Meanwhile, in the chancery, the captured americans blindfolded and bound work being taken to the ambassadors residence. The students started playing russian roulette with the women hostages to learn the combinations to bruce langan safe. At the same time, in the back of the compound, 12 americans and some iranians were preparing to leave the consular building. Two people were among them. Fortunately for us, the terrorists had not blocked the street entrance. The chancery has a direct door onto the back street. I went to open the door. So i opened it up and there were three or four four please. I said we are leaving the building. He said ok. At that time people started to file out. The americans split into two parties, six and one group, led by the consular chief. Week got another lock block or so, then a group of week got another lock block or so, then a group of young militants surrounded us and said we were hostage, and at first i didnt catch that. I said you have got the building. Do whatever you want. Burn it down. They said, no, you dont understand, you are hostage. He said keep on walking, dont stop, dont talk im me just walk straight. As we started to walk off, the young man fired a shot. They surrounded us a cia, cia, etc. He found a radio and started to walk off with it. He was going to take the radio. I said to come excuse me. He turned around and i smiled and used hand gestures to confuse him, grabbed the radio, smashed it on the wall and destroyed about 4000 worth of electrical equipment, and i handed the shattered components back to him and said, now you can have it. The second escaping group with these five americans, led by bob anders had taken a different route and were on their way to the British Embassy, a standard contingency plan, but the route became blocked by demonstrators. Bob said i am going home. We said we are going with you. We just wanted to get off the street, because i noticed at least it seemed like some people were starting to stare at us. The relative safety of his apartment was only four blocks away, but across the street from it was revolutionary Committee Headquarters. When we came to the street where the Committee Headquarters was, weep your to round the corner to see if anyone was looking and then make a mad for the building on the other side, and we did that one after the other and made it into bobs apartment, which was a relief, i think, for all of us. As soon week got in there, we got on the telephone and radio. Everyone had two way radios. We were trying to call different apartments and couldnt get answers anywhere. I became convinced we were the only ones able to get out. He was right. Back at the main gates of the embassy, the other captured group was being forced back to the motor pool area. By now it was Late Afternoon in tehran and the hostages were split into small groups. He and his colleagues were about to join them. They escorted us to the ambassadors house. My hands were bound with a nylon cord which cut off the circulation after while. Our hands were tied to the chairs and our feet were tied to the feet of the chair, and at which time they went through the show of questioning us before the cameras that this young man had. There is one american who shall remain nameless who was telling the iranians who each american was, giving them information. Should have been shot for that, but i dont set policy. Back in washington, d. C. The state department set up in iran working desk within hours of the takeover. Although secretary of state cyrus vance and officials were sure that the iranian government would eventually come to the rescue. By now it was getting dark in tehran and it started to rain. The embassys takeover made for an evenings entertainment, whole families came to the embassy and chanted death to america. Death to the shah. Shaw. Meanwhile, bruce was still at the Foreign Ministry arranged for thier safety and told them to take three in the Swedish Embassy upstairs. I walked up the stairs to the Swedish Embassys office suite and they were expecting me. At the Foreign Ministry, the foreign minister met with them. He told the diplomats he would speak to the revolutionary counsel that not and assured him the crisis would soon be resolved. He asked me where i propose to spend the night and i said, well, that is your responsibility, mr. Foreign minister. I am here with the assurancce your government will provide protection for me in my mission. It is your responsibility. Can you assure me i will be safe on the streets . Obviously you cannot. He wanted us to go away. His attitude was i have enough headaches. Your people are just making my life more complicated than it need be. So they were then taken to an ornate ballroom used for diplomatic receptions. They demanded telephones. They were taken in and plugged into the ballroom, so that we were able to continue our discussion with washington on one of the lines, and use the other phone to make local calls. It was an uncomfortable, worrisome night. We could not accept with assurance what he told us. Clearly we hoped that what he told us would be true by morning, but we had no assurance of that and were very skeptical. Meanwhile at the Swedish Embassy, the end of day one of the hostage crisis left him with nowhere to go, so he stayed in the embassy. He was at least more comfortable than his 63 captured colleagues. We were sure this would be over in a day, at most. Day one of the 444day hostage crisis was finally over. music , as date two dawned, he continued to monitor the grounds. He was no less than the son of the ayatollah khomeini. If he had told him to release the hostages, there is no doubt they would have peered he didnt. Instead he gave him the ayatollahs support. Most were students mainly from tehran, zealous and conservative, angry at the government for maintaining normal relations with the United States, so in october, 1979, 30 or 40 of them met to plan in action, against the iranian government and the United States. As incredible as it sounds, the seizure of the u. S. Embassy was only supposed to last three to five days. When the government proved incapable of stopping the students in the ayatollah signaled his support publicly, the students found they had started something worth continuing. With massive popular support, including elements of the military, they demanded the return of the shaw as a way to end the takeover. The hostages are here because this is the only thing we can have here against america, and we tell them we do have the hostages until they send shaw here. The iranians were looking for some people by name, and the word came back to the Swedish Embassy that my name happen to be one of them. The person whod then gave sanctuary to him was a scandinavian friend of his she worked in the Swedish Embassy. I was taken to a private residence and spent the next two weeks in that residence day and night. That day, a u. S. Information Cultural Agency called the iranianamerican society was being overrun. The director was kate. They escape the students and were given sanctuary by the germans in their kurt Russell Center there cultural center. The germans were absolutely fantastic. They not only provided us the space to get to immediately, but were willing and offered to take us into their homes if we needed deep cover. But they made the biggest mistake of their lives. They returned to the Iran America Society after hearing that the militants had left. There they were joined by the person who had been at the tehran airport during the takeover. Within 15 minutes of return, they were all captured. All three of them were being taken to the Embassy Compound to join the other people being held hostage there. At that point we realized we had to do something about the other five. The five consular staff were the only americans now out. They still trusted the iranian Foreign Ministry enough to tell them the six were free. When we first learned that the six were free in the city, we had informed the Foreign Ministry at the level we thought appropriate and sought their assistance. I said in effect that you should be aware that there are several people who were not caught by the student militants who are presently in tehran. It has never been revealed before that the iranian Foreign Ministry officials knew that the six americans were free. It is possible, 20, 30, maybe even more people knew. Later on november 5, terms were set for the escapees to be picked up by British Embassy staff. I was at a housing compound in the northern part of the city. They put them up there. While they were safe behind the gates of the british compound, for kate it was the start of 14 months of captivity. When we arrived at the Embassy Compound, we were separated and searched. The young woman who did my search was a real novice, sort of patted a little bit here and there and was terribly embarrassed when she had asked me to take off my dress. So she did her job and left. Evidently she described what she had done because she came back a few minutes later and they said i didnt do a good job and i have to do it over. One of my colleagues i think has said at some point it was like teaching hostage 101 sometimes. The blindholds were removed and our hands were tied to chairs, risk bound to chairs, then they said, no talk. The hostages would not be allowed to talk for four and a half months. They were separated and placed in the ambassadors residence on elsewhere on the compound. The seven captured women were segregated from the men. They ransacked the place, destroying papers, ripping up the books, it was just mass destruction, just destruction for the sake of destruction. The students were convinced most of the americans were spies and tore the place apart in search of evidence. One suspect was kate, and they kept her apart from the others. They accused me of spying and all kinds of things. They said give us your jewelry. One of our experts will examine it. My first reaction was if you think youre going to get much ransome out of this, think again. So i pulled it off and i was handing it to him and i realized they were not looking at it for value, they were looking at it as though it were going to hold some sort of wondrous mysterious something or other. I am not sure what. As the days passed, the iranian students claimed they found proof of spying. We know there is spying because they have documents. One of the documents they showed outlined a cover identity for a cia official. Fake passports were also found, along with lists of iranian contacts, false license plates for agents vehicles, and many payoff envelopes stashes with hundreds of used us dollar bills. If the United States government does not reply to the iranian peoples request, we will begin the trials and carry out the sentences. These discoveries gave the iranian students the leverage they needed. They had delivered to the iranian people evidence that the hostages were spies, not diplomats. The Prime Minister was powerless. The provisional revolutionary government also resigned that day. At that point, i think we beganto think this was not going to be resolved immediately. When the provisional government fell and power devolved to the revolutionary council, the students come in the streets, my capacity to function was severely limited. It was very clear, very quickly that those who held power were very reluctant to speak to us, to sully the reputation politically, if you will. 20 casualties of the governments collapsed was abraham, he was replaced as foreign minister. Initially sided with the students. The president ,. The United States of america will not heal to International Terrorism or blackmail. The crisis became carters personal nightmare. That night the second, night, i was allowed to lie down. And in the middle of the night someone came up and tapped me on the shoulder woke me, up and whispered are you mr. More field. He said come with me. They untied my feet, left my hand side hold a blanket over my head and took me away from the compound. A lot of automobile changes. Moving from one car to the other. And eventually i ended, up i think in a studio somewhere. Him and five others had been feared away. And taken as hostages in case the iranian government attempted a rescue. In the back of my head, i heard the rifles being loaded the shots and clip on an empty chain. I think it was very clearly intended to intimidate us at that time it is also an indication that i might not get out, and i was likely to be there for a long time. As chaos reigned, fear spread throughout the community. U. S. Businessmen fled iran taking flights to anywhere. For the british who was hiding the fugitive americans anxiety grew that their compound might be attacked that day. So the British Ambassador phoned the iranian Foreign Ministry. He suggested that it might not be safe to keep the five people that they had in their housing compound much longer. One of the british officer came in and informed us that we were going to have to leave. We were somewhat surprised and perhaps even a little shocked at this, because we thought that this was a good place to wait out the whole thing. The five had nowhere to go. So they turned to the thompson for help. He in turn the call this man. He was a tie cook who worked for and lived in her house. She was he was there linked to freedom. I turn to him to see if he would be willing to help these people out, speaking to him, we were sure the iranian would not understand tie. We were finding a place for five of them to stay. Then i decided and told them, he said, he said good, its a good occasion. For the next five days, the americans were in the house of hostage john graves listening to the news on tv and radio. When they heard the Diplomatic Mission from the state led by ram zeke clark had failed to even meet their anxiety turned to fear and panic. For one week, the most powerful nation in the world had been unable to help its hostages. We lost contact with them around wednesday or thursday. The Foreign Ministry no longer allowed our phone calls to go through. We were on our own and consequently they could not be traced from records that were at the embassy. I decided to tell him, we better move. And he took us to a house a couple of blocks away. In a car driven by an iranian friend of his, who he trusted, it was right up against the street, in fact we could not go in the kitchen without risking being seen by any person walking down the sidewalk. I think we decided within a few minutes of our arrival, that this was just not an acceptable hiding place. So i thought it would be a good idea to do something, which i had in the back of my head. And that was to call my good friend from the Canadian Embassy. John sheardown. The phone rang and i got up to answer it. He said to me, well, why did not why didnt you call sooner. They can stay with us. So of course, i immediately felt very relieved about that. That offer a sanctuary by canadian secretary John Sheardown was to be the turning point for the five fugitive americans. His wife did not have the that diplomatic immunity. Her decision was particularly courageous. At the Canadian Embassy, sheardown told his boss about the fugitive americans. I was delighted to hear that some of them made their way out and were in a position to be of some help to him. Despite the risks, he recommended canada officially sanction them. The final decision rests with the canadian minister of foreign affairs. She and her Prime Minister joe clark result that canada would help, unlike new zealand, sea land, and britain. All of them were turned down requests for sanction. Interim the five americans were picked up by two British Embassy cars and taken to the sheardown residents. We are then told that we would not be able to stay together, to the two of our party would have to go with ambassador taylor. The president s of two of us enter zone home would make the point that it was an official act of canadian policy and not an undertaking by john. So they stay from november 10th at the sheardown house. Joanne kathy stayed at ambassador can taylors house. That same day, a few european diplomats who escorted them to the u. S. Embassy to see the hostages. They only saw some of them in reported they were being well treated. Others however, were being terrorized. They grabbed us, blindfolded us, took his outside and lined us against the wall. And just clam do against the wall, heads against the wall. And we could hear them walking back, that puts me. Against the wall, like this. And it was like, holy, what is going down . I thought for sure we were going to be executed. I was sure of it. And next thing i know, they started chambering rounds behind us, and all of a sudden the temperature dropped about another 30 degrees. And it got real cold. I was just waiting for what i thought would be a loud crash, and everything to fade out, and that would be the end of life. Waiting for it, and this really morbid curiosity overtook me, wondering, would i feel it . How long would the pain last . Would everything go slow motion . Would it be just like being hit in the head by a two by four and then blackness and then light at the end of the tunnel . And actually come the person at the door said ok, and closed the door. And we were alone and looked at each other and said, what the hell was that . And it was over. music back in the u. S. , bewilderment turned to anger. Any iranian on the street could become a target. Jimmy carter chose to hit back at iran through economic measures. No one should underestimate the resolve of the American Government and the American People in this matter. On november 12, he cut off oil imports from iran and then froze iranian assets in u. S. Banks. Despite this, on november 18, after help from plo leader yasser arafat, the ayatollah ordered the release of three hostages. The most difficult part was sitting in a chair 16 hours a day with your arms tied to the arms of the chair. Their release was followed two days later with 10 more hostages being freed, four women and six blacks. This was the first time they had seen each other since the takeover. There release came as a complete surprise. They were taken to the tehran airport, where they gave a press conference. The other two still being held hostage. Kate coupe is an officer, and elizabeth swift is a officer. The news of their release took three months to reach kate cobe and ann smith, who were held in the embassy. When i found out that they had been released, that they was euphoria. It was the next best thing to being sent home myself. The freed americans did not speak publicly about their experiences because the ayatollah was now threatening to try the remaining hostages as spies. We have found no evidence that proves these people are diplomats. All evidence proves that these people are spies. The date of the trials are not fixed because we believe the United States must return the shah. As with any foreign embassy, information gathering is of prime importance, and the iranians claimed there were at least three cia operatives among the 53 hostages. These documents plus forged passports report to show the undercover identities of the agencies. This Embassy Staffer had no less than three different aliases, with passports for each. Born in antwerp, belgium, july 8, 1934, your cover occupation is that of a commercial business representatives. These developments caused great concern to the swedish ambassador who was hiding lee shatz. The ambassador needed help and confided in canadian ambassador ken taylor. The conversation opened by saying it was appropriate that we could offer help since he could easily be seen as a canadian. My response was that, while possibly of course we could, since we already have five, im not realizing that he didnt realizing he had the five. He was as astounded as i was. Ambassador taylor arranged that i meet with someone who knew both of us and who would take us to where lee was staying. Two people came in the door, one who i had never met before. The only thing i could think of was, wow, i finally met someone from the cia. When we got to the house, i was first of all unaware until that trip that it was the canadians that the other people were with. I purposely didnt say anything because i wanted to keep this as a surprise. Im sure the first thing we did was sit down and have a drink. Back home in idaho, lee shatz was front page news. The state department told his mother he was safe, but forgot to tell her not to tell the press. In washington and new york, other american journalists were also aware that some americans had escaped the takeover. But the white house asked for a publication freeze, and they all agreed. For some time, that silence saved his life because militants were checking homes of hostages and found one at kate cobes house. One guy put his gun to my stomach and said, where is the americans, where is the americans . I said, i work with the americans but my bosses at the embassy already. There are no americans around here. They said if i hide the American People they would kill me. That is why i left. He is an unsung hero of the u. S. Hostage crisis. He spent the next 18 months in hiding, living in the basements of friendshomes, coming out only at night to find food and fresh air. In a more restrictive situation, with 53 hostages, most of whom had been moved to a storage warehouse they called the mushroom inn. In this windowless environment, they were incarcerated for many months. When you are locked in there, it is like a bank vault. Not only didnt you see the sun, but you were completely cut off from the world. It was quiet all the time. In even the birds didnt sing. It was roaring silence. Many hostages spent up to half a year here, two to a room under 24 hour surveillance. Talking was forbidden. Night time was when they switched off the lights and daytime was when they turned on the lights. That was day and that was night. And that was it. The only time we saw the sun was when we were taken outside for about 20 minutes to exercise, walk around, and it was just such a tremendous feeling to be able to not only see the outside, to feel a breeze, but to hear the birds, to hear the traffic, just to hear car horns, it was a really exhilarating feeling to go outside. Back at the Foreign Ministry, life was at least bearable. Three hostageswere living in the ballroom, but were still prisoners. These pictures taken by other diplomats show the room they lived in. We had two means of communicating written messages, one very much aboveboard and the other not. The first was via the iranian Foreign Ministry tell lax to the embassy in washington, which in turn passed them on to the state department. The other method was to give messages to various visitors who came to see us. These visitors relate information about the hostagescondition to bruce langan. The burden that rested on us for from from the first day to 444, was the realization we could he we could help our colleagues in the compound. Because we couldnt really do anything about our colleagues. music by december, foreign minister banisadr was himself replaced, and the negotiations stalled again. We are not bound to accept the arbitrary position of anyone on the face of the earth. For Government Action to support and in effect participate in the taking and holding of hostages is unprecedented in human history. Jimmy carter then ordered most of irans diplomats out of the u. S. The following day, december 13, the shah left for panama. It was hoped his departure would bring the crisis to an end, but it did not. However, in iran, government officials did allow the three americans held in the Foreign Ministry to see other diplomats, one of whom was kim taylor. Kim taylor i think brought us aftershave lotion, which turned out to be scotch, a tradition that was subsequently followed by the swiss. Ken taylor told us he was in close contact with ottawa and washington on a plane that was evolving, but he did not share with us any specifics. music the six houseguests in hiding with the canadians knew nothing of these plans. They had settled into a daily routine of playing scrabble, listening to the news, reading and drinking more than they ever had before. We were the kids and john was big daddy and we waited for him to come home every night because he always had something of interest, hopefully something of interest for us to hear about. The news they wanted to hear was that the crisis would be over by christmas, but it was not to be. However, their canadian hosts made christmas 1979 a real high for the six fugitive americans. In many ways, its the best christmas i ever had. We had a really, really good christmas, a lot better than our friends did. And i guess that was something that we always had to think about, even when we were bummed out and depressed. We knew that we were always better than our friends were. music music [silent night being sung] music music the militants allowed three american clergymen to celebrate christmas with the hostages. music i saw the film of that first christmas, and it looked so nice, sitting on the couch, all these cookies and candy in front of you, this preacher sitting there, these iranian guards sitting between you and holding your hands and being nice and smiling, while behind the camera, there are these people with weapons pointing at you. [laughter] it was great. One guy sat in back twirling a six shooter. That first christmas, we were not permitted to say anything on camera. I chose to ignore signs, posters, cameras, and everything. Focus on the central theme of christma not only was it spiritually uplifting at christmas, extremely so, but at the same time it also brought back memories much more poignantly, very poignant memories about past christmases. The contrast was pretty profound. I was worried that i was really impolite to the minister who came. I was in no condition to think about peace on earth, goodwill toward men that night. music glory to the newborn king music in the United States it was a painful christmas for the families of the hostages, including the parents of jimmy lopez. Special services were held in churches and cathedrals across the country. Marcy lopez, jimmys sister, symbolized the nations anguish. music i know he is ok and that he is not being treated wrong. I would do anything to get him home. And i guess that is the whole worlds goal. music the hostages are pushed from the headlines by the soviet invasion of afghanistan. [explosions] but six days laters the hostages are back in the headlines as the u. N. Secretarygeneral arrives in tehran to try to negotiate an end to the hostage crisis. Meeting with government officials, sympathizing with the victims of the shahs secret police, he was finally rebuffed by the ayatollah. The mission collapsed. The news unsettled the six americans staying with the canadians. We felt so much time had passed, and now our problem was a separate one from the other hostages for a variety of reasons, and that some consideration should be given to active plans for getting us out. Unknown to the six, not only were the canadians making plans to get them home, but at least one taylor of kim taylors staff, Sergeant Jimmy edwards, was gathering information for the u. S. Military. He was eventually captured inside the u. S. Embassy compound by iranian militants while attempting to find out exactly where the hostages were. He was taken to the embassy guardhouse, questioned and released after he told the students he was only collecting posters for his collection. Some posters he needed, he said, were stuck only on the inside of the walls. Ambassador ken taylor quickly sent him to canada, where he received two decorations for bravery. The information the canadians collected inside the embassy was transmitted to the cia and state department. It was used later by the pentagon and planning for operation eagle claw, the American Rescue mission. They attempted to gauge whether a socalled commando raid would be plausible. This was a collective effort. At the same time, the canadian government in ottawa provided bogus passports for the six american houseguests. Other vital documents such as false driver licenses came from provincial governments of alberta and ontario. Then, at the cia headquarters in langley, virginia, six canadian passports were doctored with necessary stamps, visas, and photos of the six americans. music the passport arrived in tehran by diplomatic courier. Canadian first secretary roger lucy, who understood farsi, inspected the passports for errors. There was a mistake. There was one date that had inadvertently been set by hand. The cia had mistaken the date the six americans were meant to have arrived in tehran. The date they had forged showed the six leaving iran before they had arrived. This error was rectified by a cia agent whom jimmy carter had sent to iran to assist in the canadian caper. We were given Background Information on canada, because unfortunately we are illiterate ot our nextdoor neighbor to the north. Meeting with our left hand. I had to find out it was actually torono canada instead of toronto canada. All of us were part of a Canadian Business venture, checking out the situation in iran. That is why we supposedly were there. We were given new names and dates of birth and that kind of stuff, and asked to start learning who we were going to be. By january 27 nearly all the Canadian Embassy staff, including john and zena sheardown, had left tehran, supposedly on holiday. It had been decided the escape from tehran was to take place on january 28, during iranian elections. The americans made their way to the airport in our office cars as friends of mine. When you are in the car and it is dark and you are just driving, i began to imagine all sorts of terrible things that were going to happen when we got there. I was wearing dark glasses. I think i used a little Eyebrow Pencil to darken my eyebrows, i combed my hair and a little different way, and the girls changed their hairdos. To walk into a crowded airport lobby was very scary. It felt very strange. But after we stood there for a minute or so, then it was ok. But that made me very nervous. Normally the man stood there, took your passport, stamped it, and you were on your way. That particular morning, there for some reason was a change. He took my passport, looked at it, and stepped into a side room. Three long minutes later, he returned. He looked at me and in broken english said, is this you . And it was a very stern picture, no smile. That morning i was trying to be as cheerful as i could when i was talking to any of the officials. And i got a very stern look on my face, pulled on my mustache and said, yes. He smiled and i smiled, he handed me my passport, and on i went. That is the point where you really begin anticipating, you are so close and yet there are vital things to do. And going on board and sitting down was just that much closer. And mentally, i think we were counting down the minutes, and fortunately once we were on board, the takeoff was almost immediate. music we leaned down the island looked at each other and it was a knowing look, a smile on his face, really very happy. music as we coasted to the mountains as we pulled over the turkish border, it was obviously the high point of the trip, so good to finally be out of there. music finally we landed in frankfurt, and back in the real world. And it was a great, great feeling to be out of that situation. We both kind of looked at each other and just in unison, stomped our feet on the ground one more time, and it was over for us. music the four remaining canadians close the embassy and took a flight out of iran. Canadian journalists broke the story on the morning of january 29. It was called the canadian caper and became one of the few Bright Moments in the long bleak months of the iranian hostage crisis. The six flew home to a heros welcome. [applause] the state department was filled with people. I was overwhelmed. It is the closest i have ever really come to crying in public. There was so much emotion there. [applause] sooner or later, here or anywhere in the world, canada will pay for this violation of the sovereignty of iran. music after the iranian elections, the new president , banisadr, started secret negotiations with the americans through two lawyers in france. The talks led to a scenario for transferring the hostages from the student militants to the iranian government, which in turn would release the hostages to the americans. How nice of you too,. Thank you very much. It was also agreed the hostages could be visited. How are you . Im fine, thank you. Thank you so much for coming. This is an answer to a prayer, because it has been almost two months since christmas and i was praying we could have a chaplain. You are sick. They had us cleaned up. The plan called for doctors to visit the hostages to say they were mistreated, which is opposed by islamic law. This would give a reason to transfer the hostages to the iranian government. And it has been going on since january. In return for transferring the hostages, the u. N. Agreed to set up a commission of inquiry into the crimes of the shah. On march 11, the u. N. Commission left iran. The agreement had collapsed. It was obvious the government had no real power. To add to the United States problems, the shah who was in panama and threatened with deportation to iran took up president carters promise that he could return to the u. S. To dissuade him, carter ruled he would have to abdicate the throne first. This, the shop refused to do. He flew to egypt which was to be the last flight of his life. Music Special report. The hostage crisis had become a daily obsession on all three networks. They were there they were there for christmas and easter. Day 195. They showed pictures of the hostages. Today was one of those narrow openings. It was anarrator propaganda ploy to get world coverage for students. For the hostages, an opportunity to communicate with their loved ones. Food is good and is adequate. The only reason im losing weight is because i decided that was one thing i could do while i was here. I dont have we got back and we realized we had probably given a much more positive picture than we would have chosen to be given had we thought more carefully there was not any easier for the hostages to control what some of the visitors had to say. We have exercise bicycles, pingpong, tv, movies, video cassettes, the food is fine. I remember easter, that was when drew piper came over, he got a lot of us mad. He turned a blind eye to everything that was going on and saw only what he wanted to. He they showed us their library. It is the room almost the size, covered with books, and they are going to get more books. It was impossible to talk to the man. He didnt want to hear it. He would shut you off. The visits were an opportunity for the hostages to get letters from home. Theres a letter from your family. The lack of mail was off so a hot issue in the states. Many of the relatives of the hostages complained about it. To me it was clear they were using mail as an intimidation point, either against us or our families. This was too much for his wife who took the issue on national television. Why are we not being allowed to hear from the hostages . Why isnt there mail coming out of the embassy in tehran . They bragged my wife had been on national tv and had accused the cia of withholding my mail. I dont think they realized how much it told me. It told me first, we still had diplomatic relations with iran. And that the hostages were an issue, that the American People had not forgotten about the hostages, that our Living Conditions and mail was specifically an issue. And that my wife had a gone public and knowing my wife, my wife, i presume, she was doing a fairly effective job. And that was what was bothering them. To punish mrs. Moorefield, the iranians held back most of her husbands letters. In the 444 days, only four got through to the states. There was a news blackout, they were not telling us anything. We use to go on fishing expeditions with him. One of the typical guards would come in whose iq was not that high. We would just Say Something really offthewall like so, the American Forces landed in. The kid would say no. We would say, on, that is what we heard. No, no. No, you are lying. No, the americans are still flying off the persian gulf and would walk out. We would write it down and send a message. They are still out there, guys. music operation eagle claw. An entebbe style rescue mission using Hercules Aircraft and helicopters. A minimum of six choppers had to make it to desert one. Because of sandstorms, only five arrived. Colonel Charlie Beckwith was their leader. Without six helicopters, you cannot make it. He had no choice but to abort the mission and president carter agreed. As the commandos were leaving, one of the helicopters hit a hercules transport. The explosion sent a ball of fire 400 feet into the sky. The toll was eight serviceman dead, and five wounded. The corpses were abandoned along with several sets of mission plans. Late yesterday, i canceled a carefully planned operation which was underway in iran to position our rescue team for a later withdrawal of american hostages. Day 174 was a low point of the whole 444day hostage crisis. The aborted raid was a humiliating blow for america. The bodies were brought back to tehran and displayed in coffins inside the compound. One iranian stabbed a body in the in the head. His skull disintegrated. The charred body of the eight dead americans were returned to the u. S. The lone white house opponent to the mission, he resigned and was replaced as secretary of state by edmund muskie. When the bodies of the americans were finally returned, a period of National Mourning commenced in the United States. taps on bugle your suffering, your loss, or are not in vain. I fervently pray that those who are still held hostage will be freed without more bloodshed. Although no one knew it, the hostages had reached the halfway mark of their captivity. Many were then moved all over iran. I was put into a military solitary maximum security cell which was six by nine with a toilet and a washbasin. And a slot on the door in which they could feed us. That was a place where we were sleeping with the centipedes. There was not a whole lot you can do when you are locked into one small room. Fortunately we had books. We did a lot of reading. We exercised twice a day and we had a routine that took us approximately 45 minutes. This was a time of spiritual development. I was bored, had nothing else to do and i had a piece of paper and a pencil. I used to start doing cartoons of the jokes we had about the iranians, Different Things about them jacking around and blowing off their buddies head and claiming the cia had done it. They used to love to play with their rifles, mechanical masturbation. They have this habit of pull back the charging handle, let it slide, and for some reason pull the trigger when there was no magazine in. They would charge and pull the trigger and they would do that 20, 30 times. A couple of them forgot when they put the magazine in. They would pull the handle, pull the trigger, and pop off a round. Although after the aborted mission, some of the hostages had been moved outside tehran, Richard Queen was still in the embassy. In the more one morning, i woke up and had numbness on the left hand. I thought originally i had slept on my arm. But it didnt go away. It spread slowly up the arm. Until it eventually affected the whole left side of my body, particularly the left hand. Queen was examined by a quack doctor who laughed off his illness. I couldnt walk, i was nauseous all the time, i couldnt eat anything, i was vomiting constantly. Eventually they thought possibly i might be dying. To have a hostage die would have been embarrassing for the militants. They sent queen to a tehran hospital. The doctors diagnosed his illness as multiple sclerosis, which is potentially lifethreatening. I initially thought i was going back to the compound. I thought that was soon because i had my intravenous feeding tubes and so forth. He said no, you are going back home. He said the ayatollah has released you to your parents. They then turned on the radio and there it was. My farsi is not that good but certainly i can make out my name. On july 10, he was taken to the airport. I got on that plane and they put me on first class. They started wheeling out this giant breakfast, not for me, but for the first class passengers. I was starved and famished. I started eating anything and everything that came within grasp. In zurich, queen was taken to the hospital and his parents were flown in from the United States to meet him. I do remember mother coming in, tears in her eyes. Things were blurry. A day later, queens condition in hospital had dramatically improved, and he was flown back to the states within a week. [applause] i knew i was out. I could tell i was out. But my mind did not really jump to that conclusion. I really cant express words what it is like to be back in america again. I really cant say much more. I just wish that there were 52 more with me. There are 14 out now and there are 52 more to go. July 27, 1980 was a day of euphoria in iran. The selfproclaimed king of kings and the light of the arians was dead. Cancer had killed the man iranians call the bloodsucker of the century. With his demise, a major stumbling block for the hostages release was over. The ayatollah was now prepared to bargain. The former west german ambassador to iran was contacted by a close aide of the ayatollah. Secret meetings with the iranians were held in west germany throughout september and release seemed imminent, but war intervened. On september 22, 1980, iraq invaded iran and the talks were pushed aside once again. For the hostages, the ordeal continued. There were a couple people over in tehran that cracked, they couldnt handle it, and they went slightly crazy. And others were pulling them through. There was one person in particular who used to fry out. He would jump up and convulse and hop around the room and just all this bundle of energy coming out and he was mumbling and talking to himself and crying and giggling and laughing. The man would go totally ballistic and not know what was going on around him. And hed sit back down and wouldnt remember. He would not know what was going on. We were never permitted to see any of the men. We had no contact with our colleagues and that was perhaps one of the most difficult things to deal with. There were at least two unsuccessful suicide attempts during the captivity, but there were also many efforts to escape. One was made by stephen lauderbeck. Three attempts were made by malcolm kalp. His window was welded shut. Six of them worked me over and eat me into unconsciousness on two occasions, kept me handcuffed and tied for seven Straight Days and nights. They kicked me in the temple a couple times. I still have a consistent ringing in my ears. Kalp then spent 374 days in solitary confinement. Another hostage, military attache charles scott, endured an incredible 408 days in a closet 0like cell with no windows or air circulation. At this time, some of the men underwent their second mock execution. Im standing against the wall. Finally i said, the hell with this. I sat down. The kid came up and grabbed me and said no, you must stand and turn around. I said, up yours. They kid said if you do not, it will be serious. I said what are you going to do, shoot me . Like, go ahead, i dont care anymore, guy. I sat there, they walked around telling everyone else to sit down. I scored a little moral victory for me. Scoring points against the guards was one way some of the hostages developed a psychological edge. The guards themselves begin to show signs if strain he sort of slumped in the chair and informed us we should feel sorry for him because he had almost had a nervous breakdown taking care of us. It had been quite a strain on him. Five to seven months was one thing. But this had gone on between iran and iraq took its toll and the sanctions taking effect, the hostage crisis was too long. As the fighting becoming a hindrance. On day 365, the Iranian Parliament rubberstamped the conditions for the hostages release. They wanted the late shahs wealth and the u. S. Banks money returned. And the u. S. To stay out of iran, dropping all of its claims. Two days later on november 4, the anniversary of the takeover, americans headed to the polls for a president ial election. My thoughts in my prayers for our hostages in iran, as though they were my own sons and daughters. One year was too long to wait and the result was an awesome victory for ronald reagan. Ladies and gentlemen, ronald reagan. The negotiations picked up, algeria was named as intermediary. The release appeared imminent. On november 12, they were the last hostages moved off the compound to a prison. Then on november 27, from the militants announced they had handed the hostages over to the government. The americans were never to return to the Embassy Grounds which were open to the public. The students, it was the end of their power. Kate cold and ann swift were moved to a prison and a building where they caught sight of some of the men. Their appearances had changed, beards had been grown. We had this feeling of being back among our colleagues. As the shuttle diplomacy with the elgin arians and iranians continued, hope grew that the 52 hostages would be home for christmas. This dream was dashed by the new Prime Minister who suddenly demanded 4 billion in gold and cash. The result was the hostages had to spend a second christmas in captivity. We decided it was more important to let our families know we were all right. So the question was what could you do or say . Im feeling good. I lost weight, for which im grateful. Ann and i keep busy every day. We are reading and studying faithfully. I love you all very much and i look forward to being with you, hopefully,. As soon as we can Merry Christmas. I want to tell her how much i miss her, especially now that it is christmas. And i love her very much. And the little baby grandson that i have not seen, Merry Christmas to you all. And to my mother. Dear mom, i expect you to continue the good work, scott, in school and help mom around the house. Dont forget to feed the wild birds this winter, they are probably getting hungry. I am all right. I do expect to come home. When, i dont know. Can you will sing with me . music bless all the dear children in thy tender care and take us to heaven to live with thee there music music how goes the negotiation . Negotiations . The first days of january, the three of us were taken to prison and put into cells in solitary confinement. That simply was not just to let us go off scott free, as it were. We had to do a little time in the slammer. We were eventually released to the complex where we all then were gathered for the final several days. We have been here a week. They were all in a house somewhere in north tehran. I was convinced this was the beginning of the last act. Tom seth believed that if a deal had to be made, it would have to be before reagans inauguration on january 20. One day before the deadline, an agreement on the night before the 20th, they came in and said they were going to release some of us. We were told there would be examinations on the part of the doctors and in another part of the building. We were taken blindfolded. When the blindfolds were removed, we realized we were being examined by algerian doctors. A clear sign that something was about to happen. We were interviewed on iranian tv. My job is at the embassy, i was a counselor for political affairs. They said we need an interview. We want to tape you. Just keep in mind that it is up to us whether or not you leave. In other words, talk good about us and we will let you go, and if you dont, you are staying here. I did not think it was correct for them to seize dimplomats and hold them hostage. I still say that today, the same thing i said the day i was taken. Could anyone claim you have been brainwashed here . That is an appropriate question and i hesitate to answer. I dont know what sort of agreements have been met. You can introduce yourself if you like and say how you are. One hostage, Master Sergeant regis reagan, refused to cooperate with the interviewers. For his defiance, he was brutally beaten after the doctors had seen him. We have reached an agreement with iran, which will result, i believe, in the freedom of our american hostages. They came in the morning to pack our trash. They didnt tell us why. We figured we were going back to the prison. One of the student militants burst into the room where bruce and i had been together for the previous day and a half or so and said we had 15 minutes to get ready to go to the airport. Ann and i reached in the cupboard and said we are ready, lets go. I dont recall i felt anything but an incredulous sensation that this thing was finally coming to an end. And then they heard us herded us down the stairs and put us on a tour bus. We were not allowed to talk while we were on the bus on route to the airport. They took off our blindfolds and it was like wow, they are not supposed to do this. Something was definitely different. They kept saying dont speak. Thats like trying to stop niagara. We were all doing this out of the side of our mouth and under our breath. It was late at night. We could hear the jet engine. There were bright lights on. At the airport, we were taken one by one. Blindfolds were removed. Running through up to the airport. Even though we had to go through this, my feeling was this was their last gas because they realized they had lost. [yelling and shouting] they were pulling up people one at a time. You could hear these chants death to america, death to reagan, death to whoever they were taking across. One of the guards standing there, he had this stern look on his face. As i was going up, i gave him the bird. I flipped him off. Someone hit me in the back but i figured hey, last shot guy, take it. I really still didnt believe i was going home. Thank you. Thank you. There were all of our colleagues standing there. Hugs and two questions. [indiscernible] how are you . Celebration and reunion. A crew despaired at times if we would ever sit down. I remember them saying we will never get this plane off the ground. When they began to move, there was a giant cheer. Got up to the head of the runway and there was another cheer. They went down the runway and there was another cheer. We were airborne and yet again, a cheer. We were all on an emotional high. The last cheer was when it was announced on the intercom that we had passed out of iranian airspace. That is when they broke out the champagne. Through the i solemnly swear i will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States. Were so music music some 30 minutes ago, the planes bearing our prisoners left iranian airspace and they are now free. [applause] i remember getting off the plane in algeria and seeing our ambassador and his wife standing, both with tears streaming down their cheeks. And not really being able to comprehend. These pictures were beamed to the u. S. Where the entire nation and especially the families of the hostages were glued to their tv sets. This is the lopez family. [yelling and cheering] but they are all hearty and are now they are all hearty and are now coming and you can imagine, their happiness. They are preparing to board the american planes for the last leg of the journey. We really went crazy when we got in the airport. It had been a long time. [cheering] at frankfurt airport, they arrived. music we had been up for over 24 hours. Everyone was still going on the. Adrenaline surge. And that you will forget the last 444 days pretty soon. It was very subdued, it was neat. We thought that is it of them. Prepare him room and heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing and heaven and heaven and heaven nature sing music music after four days of hot showers, longdistance phone calls, american cooking, and fresh air, the cleanshaven former hostages finally flew home to their families. What is the first thing you are going to do when you get back . Today . Take my wife in my arms. They were on their last leg of their journey back to america. music the air force one jet carried the air force one jet carried the returning americans to Steward Air Force base in west point, new york. We are so happy to be back. Its marvelous. Its like having a bath in love. The next day, the x hostages flew to washington, d. C. To be showered with love. For them, this was day one ive picking up their lives again of picking up their lives again. Their 444 day crisis was finally over. music he raised this rugrat raced through the crowd and started climbing towards me. It was my sister. I was amazed at how much she had grown. music 10 years later, there are still american citizens being held hostage. If you dont shoot hear my voice, and see my face again, i want you to look after yourself. They are not in iran but in lebanon where 19 americans have been kidnapped by various factions of the Islamic Jihad group. Five of them have been released. Two escaped. And one rescued. William buckley, an Embassy Political officer died in captivity. Murdered by their captors, was peter kilburn, a librarian. And william higgins, who was part of the United Nations peacekeeping force. Today, eight americans remain in hostage in lebanon. Journalist Terry Anderson has been held captive for 56 months, that is over 1700 days. This tells me you have not forgotten and i know you will not. These three professors from Beirut University college have been held for 34 months, that is more than twice the length of the iranian hostage crisis. The state department is convinced the key to their freedom is held by irans islamic leaders. And since the death of the ayatollah, the iranian government has been less hostile to the u. S. But prospects for the imminent release of the hostages remains slight. As for the former hostages in iran, the 52 who spent 444 days in captivity, have picked up their lives again. , only one william keough, has since died. The six americans who escaped through the canadian caper are all well. Lee schatz, the agricultural attache, has left the government and became director of met of International Development for a dairy company. He is now married with two sons. Mark, also had two boys. After postings in hong kong, they are in warsaw where she teaches english and mark is the Administration Officer in the us embassy. Joe and Kathy Stafford became parents and joe is posted in washington. Bob anders, the leader of the escape group, was posted to norway and then jamaica. He is now the council at the u. S. Embassy in vienna. He retires in march, 1990. Canadian ambassador kim taylor received the u. S. Congressional medal. He was also honored with canadas highest award, the order of canada. As was his wife pat, along with john, and his wife. The canadian caper made ken taylor a national hero. He then moved to new york. Richard queen releasedd after 250 days suffers from multiple sclerosis and needs a cane to walk. I cant walk great distances yet. And i have a feeling i will not get back to where i was. Queen remains positive. He is working at the state department in washington and was married in february, 1989. Kate cope, one of the two women hostages, was one of many who wrote a book after she was freed. She put on all the weight she lost in tehran, the one thing she did not mind losing. Based in west germany where she is the director of an american cultural and information center, she still has her faith in god. I think of the hostages who are currently being held in the middle east and of their families and friends. But hopefully, working together maybe we will be able to change things for them. That would be my wish today. Ann swift who was locked up with kate is in the bureau of Counselor Affairs at the state department. Dick morefield retired in may, 1989. His last posting was his economic chief in mexico. He lives outside of washington with his wife dorothea who remains active in Amnesty International for the victims of crime movement. What i went through enabled americans to say they were proud of their country and they love their country and to say this openly and not be ashamed about it. From my point of view, every moment was worth it. Marine Sergeant Jimmy lopez came home an allamerican hero, making the front cover of life magazine. I dont know if people want to know me because they are sincere about it, or it is to get some of the fallout. For this girl, there was no doubt. They married in november, 1987. After a posting in japan and a promotion, he. Is now on duty in california he is now on duty in california. Nick thompson has also been promoted. Today, he is the deputy chief of mission in bank in bangkok, thailand. He never forgot the help that the tie cook thai cookie gave to the six americans. He moved to the United States and then in 1985, his family was reunited in boston. Finally, bruce langone, a former head of the u. S. Embassy in tehran who warned his government not to admit that shaw, after his release from a round, he became the Vice President of the National Defense university in washington. Although now retired, he is the executive director of the National Commission of public service. Looking back, for the 52 of us on the 10th anniversary of the seizure of our embassy, it is a time to remember the fact that eight americans are still hostage, denied of their freedom because of the threat of terrorism in the middle east. music it was 40 years ago this week that 52 hostages were taken, an issue that consumed president carter and reshaped american foreignpolicy. For the next hour and a half on cspans washington journal and cspan3, we look back at how it all happened 40 years ago
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