History
From the archives, 1991: Pajama-clad, flag-waving crowd greets ex-hostage
By
Stars and Stripes December 6, 1991
Vince Crawley and David Tarrant
Stars and Stripes December 6, 1991
Terry Anderson acknowledges the cheers of the crowd that greeted him upon his arrival at Wiesbaden. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Hundreds of people cheered a joyful Terry Anderson when he arrived in Germany early Thursday, and they expressed relief at the end of the American hostage saga in the Middle East.
About 200 onlookers, including camera-toting patients wearing pajamas and robes, lined the double balconies of the U.S. Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden to cheer and applaud as Anderson was reunited with his sister Peggy Say.
The balconies were decorated with several greeting signs, including two side-by-side messages: "Longest Held" and "Least Forgotten."
The crowd, which started to swell two hours before his anticipated arrival, cheered and whistled loudly as Anderson stepped out of an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The former Marine staff sergeant smiled broadly and waved to the crowd, many of whom waved small U.S. flags.
Anderson was flown from Syria to Germany by a C141 from the 438th Military Airlift Wing out of McGuire AFB, N.J.
He boarded the helicopter to Wiesbaden, flown by the Army’s 236th Med Co from Landstuhl, Germany.
Well-wishers on the balcony at the Air Force hospital at Wiesbaden welcome Terry Anderson back to U.S. soil. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Terry Anderson upon his arrival at Wiesbaden. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The white C-141 carrying Anderson, his daughter Sulome and her mother, Madeleine Bassil, touched down at 6:49 a.m. at Rhein-Main AB, Germany, the traditional arrival point for newly released American hostages from the Middle East.
He waved triumphantly to about 100 airmen and military family members who were chanting "Terry, Terry" as he stepped off the plane and onto a red carpet.
In what has become a common sight in recent days, Robert Kimmitt, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, greeted the former hostage, and Kimmitt's wife, Holly, presented Anderson with a bouquet.
Ten members of the Rhein-Main honor guard stood nearby at attention.
Holding his 6-year-old daughter’s hand and followed by Bassil, Anderson waved the bouquet repeatedly at the crowd as he walked to a van that drove him to the nearby helicopter.
In the crowd, Senior Airman Kelly Jamison said that the release of the last American hostage was “fantastic.” Jamison, a fuel system mechanic, was glad that Anderson’s trip was delayed by snow in Syria.
Jamison said he had just finished a 12-hour shift and had missed the arrivals of other former hostages because of work.
Terry Anderson is reunited with his sister, Peggy Say, while meeting his daughter, Sulome, for the first time. Sulome was born three months after Anderson was taken hostage. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Terry Anderson and another newly-released hostage, Joseph Cicippio, on a balcony at Wiesbaden. Cicippio, a financial officer at the American University in Beirut, was held for over five years. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
“I remember, three or four years ago, thinking, ‘When’s this guy gonna get released?’ “ said Jamison, 28, who is from Houston. “I never thought I’d be in Germany to actually see him released.”
Entire families were among those who cheered Anderson’s arrival.
Sharon Deatrick said she; her husband, Tech Sgt. Leon Deatrick; and their two children had waited for more than an hour in freezing temperatures for a glimpse of Anderson.
“I’m hoping he is truly the last American hostage and that we’re home free,” she said. “I’m just glad that they’re all released and that they’re all healthy.”
Deatrick said she also felt proud that Anderson’s flowers had come from the Rhein-Main florist shop, where she works.
"We presented him with a red, white and blue bouquet," she said.
Capt. Mark Schissler and his wife, Marcia, also came to the air base with their two young children. “I’m thrilled,” said Marcia Schissler. “We’re just glad to have him back.”