'He negotiated and got us released': Iowan held hostage in Iran recalls Carter's efforts of rescue
In November 1979, Kathryn Koob of eastern Iowa and 51 other Americans were taken captive by militant Iranian students. They were held hostage for 444 days. As she reflects on the death of former president Jimmy Carter, Koob said she credits Carter for bringing her home.
In November 1979, Kathryn Koob of eastern Iowa and 51 other Americans were taken captive by militant Iranian students. They were held hostage for 444 days. As she reflects on the death of former president Jimmy Carter, Koob said she credits Carter for bringing her home.
In November 1979, Kathryn Koob of eastern Iowa and 51 other Americans were taken captive by militant Iranian students. They were held hostage for 444 days. As she reflects on the death of former president Jimmy Carter, Koob said she credits Carter for bringing her home.
In November 1979, Kathryn Koob of eastern Iowa and 51 other Americans were taken captive by militant Iranian students. They were held hostage for 444 days.
When Koob heard that former President Jimmy Carter had died, she was overwhelmed with gratitude for Carter's actions. They had changed the course of her life.
"All I could think of was how grateful I was for all of the work that he did, not only for bringing us home, but his patience during that time had to have been amazing," Koob said.
Koob and the other hostages were released just moments after Ronald Reagan was sworn into office in 1981. The Iranian hostage crisis doomed Carter politically and derailed the end of his presidency.
But Koob credits Carter for bringing her home.
"We were doing our job, and the president did his. He negotiated and got us released," Koob said. "I think it could have gone so, so badly the other way. But, because of his patience and his continued work, we did all come home."
Koob said she first met Carter when she came home. He came to meet the hostages when they were released from Iran.
"At another time, after they had retired, I made a stop in Plains, and I was able to say hello to Mrs. Carter too. It was a joy to meet both of them," Koob said.
Beyond his time in the White House, Koob said she long admired Carter's life of service defending human rights and building homes for those in need.
She's also reflecting on the support her family received during her time held hostage.
"I would just like to say thank you once more to the people of Iowa for being the stalwart, sturdy, pragmatic people they are that understand that sometimes you can't change things, but that shouldn't stop you from trying," Koob said. "The support that the state of Iowa gave my family and others during that time was phenomenal."
Funeral services will start on Saturday. Carter's remains will be carried to the Carter Presidential Center, and he will lie in repose there until Tuesday.
After that, a funeral procession will carry Carter to the U.S. Capitol where he will lie in state until Thursday. On Thursday, a funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral.
Carter's journey will end in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where he will be privately laid to rest alongside his wife outside of their home.
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