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Show ' 2 A The Salt Lake Tribune, Wednesday, January Ex-Hosta- ges Continued From Page One to symbolize Americas wait for the captives held 444 days. Next came Bruce Laingen, the charge d'affaires who had been the top diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran when it was seized Nov. 4, 1979. The other hostages followed in quick succession, waving and smiling. Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who headed the U.S. team 21, 1981 Iran in After Freedom to Nightmare Fly that negotiated the final release agree- ment, and U.S. Ambassador to Algeria Ulrich Haynes, greeted the hostages as they left the Boeing 727 of the Algerian airline. The group moved into the airports VIP lounge, where Algerian Foregin Minister Mohamed Benyahia, smiling and relaxed despite several steepness negotiations, nights over said: last-minu- ... "It is my duty at this moment to deliver your fellow citizens to you, Mr. Christopher, who officially represents the American government here. Round of Applause There was a round of applause from the freed hostages and Algerian and U.S. officials. "I have the great honor and privilege in affirming that you are back home ana safely in our hands, Christopher This event answers our are more than delighted to accept the responsibility of seeing to it that you return to your homes and families. Christopher thanked the Algerian government for its role as intermediary, saying, Todays events would not be taking place without the role of your government. He told the they would responded. prayers and we Christopher boarded a plane and it was not clear if he was going with the hostages or to another destination. In Athens, U.S. Ambassador to Greece Robert McCloskey did not board the aircraft but said, I was assured all 52 were aboard and that has been certified in Tehran by the Swiss board two military airplanes in two groups for the flight to Wiesbaden, with those whose names began with A through K in the first plane and those with names beginning with L through Z in the second. Christopher and Harold Saudners, another member of the U.S. negotiating team, were to fly to Wiesbaden with the hostages, an Air Force spokesman in West Germany said. But in Algiers, 1 -- . -- ambassador." In Tehran, the captives were driven ! r. in a bus to the airport and then escorted by guards to the plane through a crowd of revolutionary guards, some waving their fists and Death to America and chanting, God is great. I Film shown on Iranian television 1 showed no joy in the faces of the ! hostages, although several had strained 1 I smiles. In the United States, elated country- - I men spread the news with pealing ; I church bells i blaring sirens, and I offered prayers of thanks that the , I burden of 444 day s in captivity had been ; lifted. , The national Christmas tree in! Washington, dark for the past two;! Christmas seasons, was lit ! Freedom Flight ;! Three Algerian jets roared through T the night skies in the freedom flight over the Middle East. According to the Tv Athens control tower, one Boeing 727 carried the hostages, a second Boeing 727 held their belongings and a third. smaller jet was for the Algerian-l- , diplomats who served as in the long and frustrating negotiations ; -Z for the Americans freedom. The Boeing 727s and a smaller jet had taken off from Tehrans noon Eastern airport about half-paStandard Time (9 p.m. in Tehran), only minutes after the presidency of the United States passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan in the pomp of Inauguration Day. Drink to This One Those minutes cheated Carter of the satisfaction of bringing the crisis to a close on his watch. But it was announced that the who declared he couldnt be happier, was flying to West Germany later Tuesday to greet the hostages. We can all drink to this one, his beaming successor Reagan said as he raised a glass of California wine at a reception with congressional leaders. one-by-o- America Reacts Celebrations Rise , Church Bells Ring By Associated Press Church bells pealed joyously from mighty cathedrals and tiny churches, sirens wailed and lowered flags were hoisted back to the tops of the staffs Tuesday as the word spread across a frustrated nation that the 52 American hostages were free at last. People watching the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president broke into cheers and uncorked champagne when the news came that the freedom flights had finally left Tehran after 444 exasperating days. We can all drink to this one, Reagan said, while Jimmy Carter, the former president, told reporters upon his arrival back in his home state of Georgia, I couldnt be happier. Organize Celebrations Officials at the state and local levels organized celebrations and observances in Florida, Idaho, Maryland, California, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and elsewhere. Streets were festooned with fresh yellow ribbons to replace those that had faded during the long ordeal. Many people simply offered prayers of thanksgiving. The jubilant parents of hostage Gary Lee stripped the hostage bracelets off their wrists and tossed them on a coffee table at their home in Pasadena, Calif. Theyre in the air! exclaimed the Rev. Earl Lee, pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene. Hes not a hostage added his wife, ! Hazel. Defense Sirens Wail Civil Defense sirens in Albuquerque, N.M., wailed for 444 seconds, while fire engines screamed in such diverse places as Baltimore and Laurel, Mont., San Francisco and Bay City, Mich. them to Algiers airport from Tehran. Women are two of U.S. hostages held for 444 days in Iran. Elizabeth Ann Swift, left, and Kathryn Koob hold hands as they leave aircraft which brought Hostages Families Cheer, Cry, Sing Now That Damn Birds Are in Air By Associated Press The families of 52 American hostages cheered, wept and sang Tuesday as word came that their loved ones finally had left the land that held them captive for 444 days. An emotional Rev. Earl Lee watched television with his arms around his wife Hazel as their son, Gary, walked from an Algerian plane to freedom in Algiers. Hes much thinner and of course he didn't cut his hair, said Lee, pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, Calif. But he was smiling. Thats what I was looking for. And he was animated. Debbie Plotkin, wife of Jerry Plotkin of Sherman Oaks, Calif., also was watching for a smile, but she didnt see one. T dont think they realize that were getting these pictures at home, that his family is sitting here watching him or he would jump up and down and wave and say, Hi mom, hi Deb, she said. Present on the Way Albert Ybarra, cousin of Sgt. Jimmy Lopez of Globe, Ariz, said: It was one big yahoo from all of us here when Lopez appeared in the door of the plane that had transported the hostages from Tehran. My present is on the way, Mary Needham, celebrating her 49th birth- - For Algeria, Release Seen As a Diplomatic Success Reuter News Agency The release of ALGIERS, Algeria the American hostages held by Iran was a striking diplomatic success for Algeria which acted as an intermediary between Washington and Teheran, Western diplomats said Tuesday. Algeria pursued a secretive and tactful diplomacy, the efficiency of which won U.S. praise even before Washington knew for sure that an agreement could be reached. The Algerians, who welcomed the fall of the late shah and Irans Islamic revolution, have been looking after Iranian interests in the United States since the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980. Disapproval by Algeria While their government criticized the freezing of Iranian assets in the United States as economic blackmail, Algerian officials privately disapproved of Iran's seizure of the hostages With its own revolutionary image still alive, however, Algeria refrained from condemning Iran. The Algerian press has frequently ill U.S. imperialism's denounced deeds throughout the world. But this did not deter the United States from regarding Algeria as a trustworthy intermediary. Cordial Relaions The United States is Algerias leading trading partner, and U.S. diplomats say privately that their relations with Algiers are fairly cordial. This might have led Washington to rely on the government of President Chadli Benjedid to help extract it from one of the most humiliating situations it has experienced since the Vietnam war. For Algeria, ar important reward for its efforts is increased international prestige. The latest issue of Revolution weekly organ of Algerias ruling National Liberation Front Party, said in an editorial that Algeria had won respectability among countries such as the United States which were not its natural allies. Honor, Dignity Preserved, Carter Avows Continued From Page One Tehran airport 30 minutes dent Reagans term, but y culmination of a Carter's administration to freedom. 444-da- into Presiit was the effort by gain their congressional source said Carter received a telephone call in the Limousine en route to Capitol Hill for the inaugural ceremonies, reporting the planes soon would be airborne. Carters said "Thank God," and the reaction of others in the car was it was delight all over," "delight sources said Carter and his vice president, Walter Mondale who with his wife, Joan, had been scheduled to spend Monday night in the Lincoln bedroom as Carters guests spent the night in the Oval office. A They received frequent reports monitoring the efforts of Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher to h erase the frustrating hurdles that delayed the actual departure for nearly two days after essential agreement with Iran had been achieved. Other Carter friends and advisers were in and out during night. last-ditc- The carillon of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City pealed for an hour while other church bells rang in Cortland, N.Y., and numerous other towns and cities. n, theres a future The Florida state cabinet interrupted a meeting for a minute of silent prayer and then passed a resolution urging Reagan to declare Sunday a nationwide day of thanks. Members of the Georgia Legislature rose to their feet and broke into applause when House Speaker Tom Murphy announced that the hostages were on their way Lome. Murphy, an old foe of Carters from the former presidents days in Georgia politics, declared, History will record this as one of his greatest achievements. Fright Tactics Confirmed By Ex-Hosta- ge - I' st NEW YORK CAP) Iranian militants played Russian roulette with two of the female American hostages, tied others to a table and waved guns in our faces during the first days after the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Iran, a former hostage told NBC News TuesAn Algerian doctor said the freed day night. Americans were in satisfactory conBut Lloyd Rollins, in a live interview dition, but a Swiss diplomat in Tehran with the network, said the scare tactics said two had difficulty walking. stopped within days after the Nov. 4, In the United States, long months of . 1979, takeoverof the embassy in Tehran and disappointment for the hosfear know to us. when they got tages families melted into joy. The guns disappeared, the weapons in the air! shouted the disappeared, and they tried to reassure Rev.Theyre Earl Lee of Pasadena, Calif., us that we werent going to be hurt, father of hostage Gary Lee. My heart Rollins said. is just filled with an amazing sense of . 000(1 Deal to Say thanksgiving. State Department spokesman David The release of the 50 men and two Passage, commenting in Washington on the interview, said we will have a women came after two days of heart-stoppidelays in carrying out a good deal to say about it after officals have talked to the 52 hostages released U.S. Iranian agreement announced for Tuesday. Sunday and signed Monday $8 billion to $9 billion in Passage said the State Department exchanging Iranian cash and gold for hadnt commented on the matter previthe hostages. ento want because it didnt ously danger the hostages while they were Disputes Settled being held in Iran. The llth-hodisputes were settled in Rollins was one of 13 blacks and women released by the Iranians within the early morning hours Tuesday when Carter was notified that the frozen the first few weeks after the takeover, assets had been transferred to a special 52 behind other His Americans. leaving comments were broadcast just minutes trustee account of the Algerian central after the 52 were seen on a live bank at the Bank of England. broadcast leaving a jet at an Algerian The funds were to be transferred airport as they ended 444 daysof again, to an Iranian account, once it was certified that the 52 Americans captivity. were indeed out of Iran. Refused to Comment The Iranian government said the Rcllins, 42, of Columbus, Ohio, is now stationed at the U.S. Embassy in hostages left Irans airspace at 1:28 Ottawa, Canada. He had refused to p.m. EST. Their plane landed in Athens comment on the early days of the at about 4 p.m. EST. seizure until his 52 former colleagues Tehran Radio reported that the were released. The only reports of hostages had been freed after Irans brutality to the hostages had been a legitimate proposals were accepted. Nov. 7, 1979, statement by an unidentified U.S. official who said there was Embassy Stormed no evidence that the hostages had been We hope the day will come when our beaten, stabbed or shot but that they had been pushed around, abused, people will not have to depend on a intimidated and mishandled. foreign country for any reason, Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Rollins confirmed that report. Rajai said in a Tehran Radio broad- During the first part of the captivity cast. our hands were tied very tightly, and on The captive diplomats, soldiers, tech--.' the second day of captivity a number of nicians and teachers, ranging in age hostages and myself were tied around from 20 to 64, were the remaining the ambassadors dining room table, hostages from among 98 seized Nov. 4, Rollins said. 1979, when young Moslem revSome of us even were gagged. There olutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy were guns being waved in our faces and in Tehran. threats being made. -- day in Bellevue, Neb., had said earlier in the day after news that her son, Paul Needham, was free at last. In the Air Hes not a hostage! exclaimed Hazel Lee of Pasadena, Calif., mother of hostage Gary Lee. Theyre in the air, added her husband, Earl, as the couple took their hostage bracelets and tossed m on their coffee table. The Lees had worn the bracelets, bearing their sons name, to mark the captivity. In Homer, 111., Phil Lewis, father of embassy guard Sgt. Paul Lewis, shouted to a houseful of friends and relatives: The damn birds are in the air. In homes all across the land, families wept openly and cheered loudly after news reports indicated the hostages had left Tehran and the State Department called to confirm the news. Most of the families said they would wait to hear from their loved ones before making reunion plans, but homecoming preparations kicked into high gear. Barbara Timm of Oak Creek, Wis., mother of hostage Kevin Hermening, said these last 24 hours were longer than the first 14 months. But its just a relief. Theyre free. Others still were skeptical, wary that their hopes would be dashed as they have been before. I wont believe it until I see them land, Vivian Homeyer, sister of hostage Kathryn Koob, said at a gathering in her Wellsburg, Iowa, home. I want to believe it with my whole heart, but Ive reached that point. Ive got to see them. Very Cautious Were delighted, but were very cautious, said Bonnie Graves of Res-toVa. wife of hostage John Graves. The eight members of hostage Michael Moellers immediate family linked hands in a circle in front of their television set in Loup City, Neb., and joined tearfully in singing "America the Beautiful with the presidential inauguration participants. A great burden has been lifted off my heart, Doris Moeller said as she later raised a glass to toast her son. Heres to Mike. Im glad were able to drink to him. "Theyre in the air, mother! Steven Morefield shouted in the San Diego home of hostage Richard Morefield, Stevens father. "Now its true. Now we can rejoice, said Dorothea Morefield, the hostages wife. All of a sudden added Dan ahead, Committee, said, We hope that the world will now see its way clear to insulating itself from future events of this kind." Morefield, the son. It's time Morefields to start to celebrate. Were convinced, said Linda Golacinsld after officials called her Silver Spring, Md., home with word that the plane carrying one of whom is Ms. the hostages had left Golacinskis brother, Allan Iran. Iu Olyphant, Pa., Harry Metrinko, father of hostage Michael Metrinko, called Mayor John Chichilla and said, Theyre in the air. Great, the mayor replied. Were going to make some noise for you. Horn blasts and whistles quickly sounded throughout the town and neighbors who had been waiting at the house since dawn began singing God Bless America. Raises Statebouse Flag Hoisted on the shoulders of state officials, Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas W. McGee raised the flag at the Statehouse to the top of its staff for the first time since the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Iran. I havent been so happy at a g since Iwo, said McGee, a Marine veteran who was on hand for the historic planting of an American flag on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II. flag-raisin- Religious leaders gave thanks to God. "Our prayers have been answered, said the Rev. Avery Post, president of the United Church of Christ. It is a time for celebration. Insulate for Future? The Rev. William Howard, president of the National Council of Churches, said the people of the United States and people all over the world have hoped and prayed for this day for over 14 months. Bertram president H. Gold, executive vice of the American Jewish U.S.-froz- ur I' I 1 LDS Leaders Hail Release Of Americans Algerian negotiators were praised Tuesday by Mormon Church officials in a statement rejoicing at the release of the American hostages. With all Americans, we rejoice in the freeing of the hostages and their imminent return to their loved ones, said the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints. y The statement continued: They have been much in our prayers during the long months of their captivity. We sincerely compliment all who have labored so assiduously to achieve their release, and express particular gratitude to the representatives of Algeria for their untiring efforts as negotiators. We hope and trust that the wounds opened by this unfortunate situation will quickly heal for the blessings of all concerned." I I B k SAVE Tribune Telephone Numbers CLIP B Do you need information, want sports scores, have a news story or feature you want to talk about' Is your paper missing? 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