Remember When...
Remembering the Iranian Hostage Crisis
The following is the dialogue from an interview of John P. Cardarelli, a college student during the time of the Iranian Hostage Crisis.
1.) Do you remember how you heard about the event?
John: I'm sure I heard about it on the nightly news -- the world news. I believe it was the day it occurred.
2.) What were you feeling when you first heard about the capture of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran?
John: Angry, everybody was angry that Iran would overrun our embassy and take American hostages.
3.) Did you know who the hostage takers were?
John: I knew it was Iran... I don't think I knew it was students at the time.
4.) Did you know much about America's relations with Iran before the crisis?
John: Well I knew that Iran used to be an ally of ours when the Shah was in charge. But then after he was moved out, I knew the country was run by the Khomeini, and that the Shah took asylum in America.
5.) Did you follow the news of the hostages during the 444 days of captivity? Was it on the news a lot?
John: Well it was on just about every night. I watched the news most of the time. But, no one imagined it would be 444 days until they returned.
6.) Do you remember hearing about the failed rescue attempt mission?
John: Yeah I remember that it was reported on the news that they tried to rescue and it failed miserably.
7.) Do you remember any general feelings of President Carter at the time?
John: I think that people thought that President Carter was too easy going; that he didn't deal harshly enough with Iran. I don't think he was a very good leader of the country, and that's why the hostages didn't get released until after Reagan took over as president.
8.) What was you opinion of Reagan and the end of the crisis?
John: I liked Reagan as a president because I thought he got the country back on its feet after a very poor Carter regime.
9.) How did you feel when the hostages were finally released?
John: Well everybody was happy that these American citizens were finally out of Iran, and nobody liked Iran because of it.
10.) What do you remember the most about the event?
John: I remember seeing pictures of the hostages tied up and blindfolded. I'm sure they were being mistreated. Then I just remember them getting off he plane and everyone was celebrating.
Image Above: Cardarelli, Jennifer. "John Cardarelli." 2013. JPEG file.
Cardarelli, John P. "Remembering the Iranian Hostage Crisis." Personal Interview. 13 June 2013.