Remembering 2024’s Losses: Terry Anderson

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This year I thought I’d salute the people not associated with music along with the musicians that we said farewell to last year. We lost a number of people who made a mark in one way or another throughout their lives. Here’s a name that some of you younger people won’t remember. Terry Anderson While working for the Associated Press in Lebanon in 1985, Terry Anderson was kidnapped by Hezbollah terrorists. Despite pleas from people ranging from President Reagan to Pope John Paul II to Mother Teresa to Yasir Arafat, Anderson became the longest-held American hostage in the history of the Middle East unrest. He was finally released on December 4, 1991, after 2,454 days in captivity. Showing his Christian beliefs, Anderson said he forgave the people who captured and tortured him. He was no fool, though: asked if he’d return as a journalist in the Middle East, Anderson replied, “Not for a million dollars. It is very dangerous.” Anderson returned to the States and dealt with the PTSD that such an experience would inflict on a human being. Although he was awarded $26 million from frozen Iranian assets and wrote a best-selling book (Den of Lions), he eventually went bankrupt. Later in life, Anderson taught journalism at various universities and worked hard in charitable organizations. He died after heart surgery on April 21. Terry Anderson was one of the untold hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans who faced brutality and violence for being American during the 80s. His return was a great day. May he be the last. Terry Anderson Born Terry Alan Anderson October 27, 1947, Lorain, Ohio Died April 21, 2024, Greenwood Lake, New York (complications of heart surgery) (age 76) A news article about his passing: