On April 24, 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue
the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ended with eight
U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued.
With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month
and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending
in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission
as a last ditch attempt to save the hostages.
During the operation, three of eight helicopters failed, crippling
the crucial airborne plans. The mission was then canceled at
the staging area in Iran, but during the withdrawal one of the
retreating helicopters collided with one of six C-130 transport
planes, killing eight service members and injuring five.
The next day, a somber Jimmy Carter gave a press conference
in which he took full responsibility for the tragedy. The hostages
were not released for another 270 days.
President Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans
on their way home.
Place your comment