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A letter from the families of the 1979 Iran Hostages
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7/16/2019 A Father's Day Plea
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-fathers-day-plea 1/7
Dear Senator ________,
Father’s Day is important for us and our children, as it is for all American families. It
is the day set aside to honor fathers for their sacrifices and examples. Some have sacrificed
more than others.
We, the families of the 1979 Iran Hostages, write today especially to remember
those 52 men and women held in captivity for 444 days and released to a life that would
never meet its promise or aspirations - for the 52 or their families.
It should come as no surprise that many never truly came home. They were shells of
the people that left for Iran to represent our nation. There have been suicides, early deaths,
and severe physical and mental health issues. The powerful American writer Thomas Wolfe
achingly captured what we witnessed day after day: “Lost. Lost. And by the wind grieved
ghosts please come back again.”
They were brutalized, beaten, toyed with, and left to sleep in their own feces. They
were marched out to be shot against a wall only to learn after they cried out, soiled
themselves, and broke apart that it was only a mock execution. How do you live in full fear
for 444 days and ever be the same?
And what about those of us - spouses and children - left to witness a daily barrage of
spitting hate and evil directed at our loved ones and aired around the clock? We were
hostages too. We had to try to do something but could, of course, do nothing to ease the
pain and horrific suffering. We knew only consuming anxiety and anguish. Children were
deprived of growing up normally, estranged and cold or emotionally drained away in an
effort to cope and survive. The scars to this day remain and impact.
We'll bet you do not know about the attempted suicides, the ones who dropped out
of school or life, the ones that could not forgive or forget? And what about spouses who
suffered total breakdowns, who could never resume life with a loved husband, who today
continue a depression that is unabated from those days 34 years ago, who suffer recurring
panic attacks and physical illnesses for which there is no cure and no easing?
And now for our personal Father’s Day plea: help us find some measure of
closure. After all this time of hurt and bitterness - please make a statement in support of
our Foreign Service officers and our families, and in condemnation of those terrorists
whose heinous acts decades ago continue to afflict our loved ones to this day. Hold
responsible those that criminally do business with Iran - who place profit above principleand country - since you cannot hold Iran itself liable. Grant us reparations so that, in what
is for many of us our old age, sickness and infirmity, we can know the peace that will come
from the support of our country – a measure of justice from those who took our best lives
away. Please support Senate Bill 559, The Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act
of 2013.
7/16/2019 A Father's Day Plea
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Sincerely,
The Families of the Iran Hostages:
Alabama
Matthew Arthur German - Huntsville, AL
Arizona
Anita M. Schaefer - Peoria, AZ
Arkansas
Paul John Needham - Cabot, AR
California
Luzette Kathleen Graves - San Luis Obispo, CA
Burni Lynn Hohman-Fain - Sacramento, CA
Cathy Renee Hohman - Citrus Heights, CA
Kari Dawn Jones - Los Angeles, CA
Marie Kalp - Sherman Oaks, CA
Moorhead C. "Mark" Kennedy, III - Carpinteria, CA
Duncan R. Kennedy - San Francisco, CA
Elizabeth "Betsy" F. Morefield - Redondo Beach, CA
Daniel J. Morefield - Laguna Miguel, CA
Debbie Braunz Plotkin - Woodland Hills, CA
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Connecticut
Philip L Kennedy - Madison, CT
District of Columbia
Andrew M. Kennedy - Washington, DC
Florida
Brian Alan Belk - Mt. Doar, FL
Nancy L. Richards - Cocoa Beach, FL
Cheryl N. Alsen - Citra, FL
Georgia
Gregory Blake Scott - Atlanta, GA
Christopher Jon Tomseth - Stockbridge, GA
Kentucky
Anne Elizabeth Hohman - Elizabethtown, KY
Yuri Daniel Hohman - Elizabethtown, KY
Kai Andreas Hohman - Louisville, KY
David A. Moore - Glasgow, KY
Massachusetts
Andrew Howard Kalp - Brockton, MA
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Maryland
Margarite German - Rockville, MD
Deborah Corinne German Firestone - Gaithersburg, MD
Christopher Neal German - Rockville, MD
Bonnie Trilby Schnoor Graves - Silver Spring, MD
Rose Marie Holland Brinkmann - Chaptico, MD
Candice Beyai - Burtonsville, MD
Penelope "Penne" B. Laingen - Bethesda, MD
Minnesota
Commander Charles Winslow, USN - Woodbury, MN
Missouri
William Bruce Laingen - O’Fallon, MO
North Carolina
Marjorie Moore - Pittsboro, NC
Dorothea B. Morefield - Cary, NC
Steven Q. Morefield - Durham, NC
Susanne A. Roeder - Pinehurst, NC
Dawn Marie Roeder Harris - Whispering Pines, NC
James Dale Roeder - Pinehurst, NC
Nebraska
Neal Nathaniel Needham - Omaha, NE
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New Jersey
Robert Allan Moore - Madison, NJ
Diane Moore Wilkie - Lincroft, NJ
New Mexico
Trudy McKeel - Portales, NM
William D. Morefield - Albuquerque, NM
Nevada
Elisa Wood - Sparks, NV
Lindsey Maria Moeller - Sparks, NV
Amy Celeste Jolly Moeller - Sparks, NV
New York
Madana E. Limbert - New York, NY
Charles A. Moore - Barton, NY
Barbara B. Rosen - New York, NY
Ariana B. Rosen - New York, NY
Alexander B. Rosen - Washingtonville, NY
Aranya Lynn Tomseth - New York, NY
Ohio
Mary Holland - Fairfield, OH
Cathleen M. Holland - Batavia, OH
Barbara L Holland - Fairfield, OH
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Pennsylvania
Jerome Holland - Conshohocken, PA
South Carolina
Lisabeth "Beth" Scott Mann - Spartanburg, SC
Tennessee
Arnold Glenn Graves - Oakridge, TN
Texas
Mattie C. Jones - San Antonio, TX
Carla Ann Jones - San Antonio, TX
Virginia
Gisela H. Ahern - McLean, VA
Christine Ahern Oswald - Fairfax, VA
Christopher S. Belk - Virginia Beach, VA
Alan David Graves - Middleburg, VA
Earl John Graves - Dulles, VA
Martin Andrew Graves - Bluemont, VA
Cherlynn Anita Conetsco - Falls Church, VA
John Holland - Culpeper, VA
James Palmer Laingen, USN - Norfolk, VA
Patsy E. Palmer - Vienna, VA
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Dana L. Lee - Fairfax, VA
Parvaneh Limbert - Arlington, VA
Frances G. Sharer - Chesapeake, VA
Jennifer Leigh Sharer Knight - Chesapeake, VA
Paul D. Cronin - Rectortown, VA
Wallapa Charoenrath Tomseth - Vienna, VA
Jeffery A. Sharer – Virginia Beach, VA
Vermont
Allyssa Keough Stevens - Burlington, VT
Kathryn "Kate" Keough - Burlington, VT
Shervin Limbert – Stockbridge, VT
Washington
David Thomas Schaefer - Gig Harbor, WA
Wisconsin
James Holland - Belleville, WI
Lisa Gayle Kalp - Neillsville, WI