Iran General NewsHarrowing ordeal in Iran has an unexpected benefit

Harrowing ordeal in Iran has an unexpected benefit

-

Washington Post: While thousands of baseball fans tried desperately to get tickets to the Nationals’ season opener — scouring the Internet, vying for company seats or resorting to scalpers outside the ballpark — Elizabeth Montagne was able to rest easy. The Washington Post

SPECIAL GUEST

By Jonathan Mummolo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 31, 2008; Page A10

While thousands of baseball fans tried desperately to get tickets to the Nationals’ season opener — scouring the Internet, vying for company seats or resorting to scalpers outside the ballpark — Elizabeth Montagne was able to rest easy.

A survivor of one of the United States’ most dread-filled international incidents, the Iran hostage crisis, her game-day seat has been guaranteed since 1981, she said.

“They treat us very well,” Montagne, 70, said last night from her seat about 20 rows up from third base. “Usually they give us very nice seats.”

Montagne, who lives on Washington Circle in Northwest Washington, collided with world history in November 1979 while she was serving as secretary to the chief U.S. diplomat in Iran. Iranian students, enraged that the recently deposed shah of Iran had been accepted into the United States for medical treatment, overran the embassy in Tehran.

“I got there August 4th, and the takeover was November 4th,” Montagne said.

She said the female hostages were separated from the men and tied up but were fed three meals a day and were allowed to read.

“When you’re isolated, you don’t really think anyone cares,” she said. “And of course they’re working furiously behind the scenes to get you out. . . . We just thought every day we would get killed.”

Montagne was in a second group of hostages released during the first 17 days after the takeover. Fifty-two Americans were held for 444 days.

When the last hostages returned home in 1981, all received an unexpected gift: lifetime access to all Major League Baseball games.

“It was such a pleasant surprise,” Montagne said. She carries a brass card that guarantees admission to her and a friend.

Because of her job, which often took her overseas during the heart of the baseball season, Montagne didn’t make it to many games until after she retired in 2003.

She is making up for it. She went to a handful of games last season and attended the exhibition game at Nationals Park on Saturday night.

Yesterday, she arrived hours before game time to explore the grounds, even climbing to the top of the stadium to scope the view of the city’s monuments.

“This is majestic, but my God — vertigo!” she said as she gazed at the Capitol.

Now that she has the time, she plans to keep going to games. “I’m getting very enthusiastic about it,” she said.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Kuwait Islamist MPs to quiz premier over Iran cleric

AFP: Three Kuwaiti Islamist MPs said on Sunday they...

Iran – Among those slaughtered and buried in mass graves were 62 pregnant women and 789 minors

London, 7 September - At least two more senior Iranian...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you