Download pdf - A Father's Day Plea

7/16/2019 A Father's Day Plea

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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.



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



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



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



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



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



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