Reaction to death of Terry Anderson, ISU grad and AP reporter held hostage in Middle East
A courageous correspondent who reported from the world's trouble spots. A supporter of humanitarian causes. A good friend.
Those were among the reactions to the death of Terry Anderson, the former chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press who was one of America's longest-held hostages. He was abducted in Lebanon on March 16, 1985, and held for almost seven years, until his release Dec. 4, 1991.
Anderson, 76, died Sunday in Greenwood Lake, New York, of complications from recent heart surgery.
He was an Ohio native and Marine who served two tours of duty in Vietnam. In 1974 he graduated from Iowa State University with degrees in journalism and mass communication and political science. From 1972 to 1974, while he was at ISU, Anderson worked part-time as a reporter and photographer for KRNT, vlog's former call letters.
Reaction to Anderson's death:
Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of the AP
"Terry was deeply committed to on-the-ground eyewitness reporting and demonstrated great bravery and resolve, both in his journalism and during his years held hostage. We are so appreciative of the sacrifices he and his family made as the result of his work."
Louis D. Boccardi, the president and chief executive officer of the AP at the time of Anderson's captivity
"The word 'hero' gets tossed around a lot but applying it to Terry Anderson just enhances it. His six-and-a-half-year ordeal as a hostage of terrorists was as unimaginable as it was real — chains, being transported from hiding place to hiding place strapped to the chassis of a truck, given often inedible food, cut off from the world he reported on with such skill and caring."
'Pain and hope': Terry Anderson's family, US leaders work to free hostages in 1991
Sulome Anderson, daughter
"He never liked to be called a hero, but that's what everyone persisted in calling him. Though my father's life was marked by extreme suffering during his time as a hostage in captivity, he found a quiet, comfortable peace in recent years. I know he would choose to be remembered not by his very worst experience, but through his humanitarian work with the Vietnam Children's Fund, the Committee to Protect Journalists, homeless veterans and many other incredible causes."
Iowa US Sen. Chuck Grassley
Terry Anderson was a veteran &AP reporter who was held in captivity for yrs in Lebanon He was also a graduate of Iowa State University Barbara & I send our condolences to his family/friends w the news of his passing.
Don Mell, former AP photographer who was with Anderson when gun-toting kidnappers dragged him from his car in Lebanon
"Our relationship was much broader and deeper, and more important and meaningful, than just that one incident."
vlog archives: Iowa State University campanile bell rings 72 times to mark 6 years of Terry Anderson's captivity
National Press Club statement
"Through his life and his work, Terry Anderson reminded us that journalism is a dangerous business, and foreign correspondents, in particular, take great personal risk to keep the public informed. ... For many years, Mr. Anderson had the distinction of being the longest held U.S. journalist hostage. He lived to see that unfortunate record eclipsed by journalist Austin Tice, currently held in Syria for nearly 12 years. When Anderson was kidnapped, the Press Club flew a banner across its building to remind journalists and the public of his plight. Similarly the Club now has a banner for Austin Tice."