and he was very nonchalant about his own danger. >> there were a lot of

memories. it's difficult to identify one particular evident. there were a series of different evidents. >> what did you think about the stage. >> it had its moments. >> the crowd burst into applause and cheers at the first sign of americans who had escaped from tehran. a happy welcome. at the ceremony, canada and canadians were cheered along with americans. many people including the returnees were wearing olive branches on their lapels. there was concern somebody might say something that would make the aranian jailers angry at the people still held in iran. explaining how the escapees had

hid first in the homes of friends then took refuge at the canadian embassy. >> it is hard to express how happy we are, they made us feel as part of our family especially at times during christmas when our spirits really needed the boost. we thank them for their brave support. >> reporter: then he made a plea for the 53 still in prison. >> we must not and will not forget them. >> late this afternoon the six american returnees made a visit with the president. the president was delighted. >> these are six brave americans. that knew that american people loved them but didn't know how much until they got back.

>> still to come on a second look the day the hostages were freed just as a new american president was sworn in. >> a bit later the military attempt to rescue the hostages and what went wrong. [ laughter ] [ girl ] wow, you guys have it easy. i wish i had u-verse when i was your age. in my day, we didn't have these fancy wireless receivers. blah blah blah. if i had a sleepover, i couldn't just move the tv into the playroom. no. we had to watch movies in the den because that's where the tv outlet was. and if dad was snoring on the couch, we muscled through it. is she for real? your generation has it made.

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tonight on a second look the iranian hostage crisis. 52 americans held for 444 days in 1979 and 1980. many analysts believe their capture played a major role in ronald reagan's election. their release came minutes after reagan took the oath of office. here's our coverage now from that day and the following day when details of the hostage ordeal became public. >> the scene you're seeing now is live in frank ford. as i said that plane landed

just moments ago. the hostages are walking off. they'll be taken to the american hospital there. the president's inauguration was to be the big event of today but within hours of taking office came word that after 444 agonizing days of captivity the 250 american hostages have been flown out of the iranian airport. two planes had just landed at frankford west germany. they just landed a few moments ago. buses will take the hostages the last few miles. this journey began this morning as two algears jets lifted in tehran airport. >> the hostages have been waiting hours, some have known for days they were to be freed others were told just minutes in advance. the americans had to pass of lengths of american students

chanting death to america. each hostage was carefully held at the bus until the student cheer leader could organize another round of cheering. the faces of american showed guarded emotions running from bemusement to irony to downright anger. for 14 months they'd been captive it must have been hard to believe this was truly the beginning of the end. for some hostages the realization began to sink in as soon as they walked through the door of the algerean airliner. in fact, it was here parked on the runway that the hostages became returnees. the first step began when the negotiators shifted responsibility from the hostages out of iranian's

hands. as more americans came on board more smiles began to break out and reunions began to be savored. it was a likely scene, not like that of a tourist ready to start their vacation. but one of someone who had been held captive after 444 days. >> that's great. that's great. >> it is no secret that president jimmy carter had wanted to make the announcement that the long ordeal had ended himself as one of his last piece of business. >> word came at 6:47 this morning that the final papers

had been signed. and the president was jubilant. then for more than four hour it is president and his staff waited and waited. but word of the freedom flight never came from iran. finally the president put aside all thoughts of making the freedom declaration while in office and he met president- elect reagan and moved out of the capital for the inauguration. the hostages left the airport 20 minutes after the inauguration and carter had not learned that they flew out to freedom until his motorcade was arriving into andrews base. there the carter family spent 15 minutes saying their last goodbyes to washington officials. then they boarded the plane to georgia where the president was finally going to make that announcement. >> just a few moments ago on air force one, i had received

word officially for the first time that the ano carrierá on the first leg of a journey home. and that everyone of the hostages was alive, well and free. >> this is bill thomas reports. >> the first day of freedom for the 52 hostages was darkened today by emerging tales of beatings at the hands of their captors. >> the stories coming back from the air force hospital in germany are sketchy. feltering in from the families of the former prisoners who have tried in emotional terms to recall all that was said in a phone call from a loved one-

half a world away. malcolm shall told his brother that he was beaten for trying to escape. the parents of marine start sergeant jimmy lopez says he was forced to sleep in a closet and abused. but the mental torture apparently was much worse and far more common than the physical abuse. the militants tried to break marine sergeant mcheal by telling him his mother was dead and he could go to the funeral only if he would cooperate. he did not find out that she was alive until he talked to her this morning. >> my brother was told that our mother was dead. and he had a tooth knock out. >> how?

>> he just said one of the guard knocked a tooth out. he didn't say when. >> roberts who was released during the first month of the crisis described the scene. where the militants played russian roulette with two militant secretaries that refused to speak. and a midnight raid by arm hooded iranians that clicked the bolt of their rivals as if preparing to fire. rogers was shown letters in his mother's handwriting but was not allowed to read them. at the time he and others were being told they weren't getting letters because their mothers did not care enough to write. his utter disgust for his captors came through in everything he said. >> which were perpetrated on

our people by iran can never be condoned. iran in my judgment and the people responsible in iran for this criminal act ought to be condemned by all law loving decent people of the world. >> when we come back on a second look, why the military mission to rescue the hostages failed. how americans were held hostage at the gas pump.

on a second look tonight, we remember the iranian hostage crisis. 52 americans taken captive on november 4, 1979 at the american embassy in tehran. the u.s. mounted a secret military rescue operation, it failed. here's our coverage now as details of that mission emerged. >> the rescue attempt began

late thursday when eight hh5083 took off the coast of iran carrying about 90commandos they flew northwest to the town of cabas about 300 miles from tehran. the key of the operation was the helicopter. six had to make it through. but a sand storm disabled three of them leaving only five. they landed at the desert staging point where they were met by 6c130 carbo planes. the pentagon refused to say where those planes came from. defense officials say the aircrafts flew in and were not detected a bus with 50 iranians passed by. in the dead of night vision was

none. eight persons killed, four others seriously burned. leaving the dead behind. the remaining members of the team boarded the plane. >> there was no reason to believe the hostages would be released at any time in the forseable future. several times had been mentioned you may recall, may, june, july the end of the year and indefinite. >> as president unknown that our entire nation feels a deep gratitude for the brave men that were prepared to rescue those americans from captivity. and i know as an american that we have a determination to persevere. >> when the news of the disaster reached iran, thousands of jubilant iranians

ran around and chanted we have won again saying that god was on their side. it was learned today that the -- nine hostaged approved to be saved first because they were in the biggest danger. the iranians double agents had americans using u.s. communication would have given the signal to the rescue commandos. all the agents slipped out of the country posing as european businessmen. 10 years after the americans had been taken hostage. watson took a look back at the hostages who were still in iran. >> reporter: 10 years ago today, one of the most hope less situations faced by the american government took place. 15 americans were held hostage

for the next 444 days. what happened in iran that day was no less than the birth of a system that influenced world politics for the next decade. that system was the iranian form of government by terror. >> the first time an embassy had been taken access in all of the personnel and all of them used by pawns in the political process of the country. it intensified the role of terrorism in the world's stage. >> today in tehran there was a celebration commemorating the day of the hostage taking. there were the cries of death to america but more the most part the iranians ignored the event. the iranians are asking for the freezing of assets before they release hostages including eight americans. when the hostages came home they came back to a new world one in which the unite was no

longer considered invincible. today at arlington memorial three hostages honored some of the officers that lost their lives trying to rescue the hostages. >> [taps being played ] when we come back on a second look, america's energy crisis.

welcome back to a second look where tonight berevisit the iranian hostage crisis. america had endured all sorts of crisis. water gate gave way to rapid

inflation. and the supply of gasoline and a rise at the price we paid at the pump. dennis richmond had this look at the gas price increase of the 70s. >> reporter: it is a lasting imagine of the 1970s, cars hyping up -- cars lining up for blocks just to buy a gallon of gasoline. we called it the energy crisis. opec became angry of u.s. support of israel and staged a nine month embargo of oil shipments to have the united states. it happened again in 1979 after iranian missionaries cut oil shipments to the u.s. over the course of a decade, americans had to confront

sell. this long time energy crisis -- >> that's it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week.