La Sierra High School - Sunrise Yearbook (Riverside, CA)

Page 92 text:

Events of 1980-1981 Throughout the 1980-1981 school year severa major events have taken place, many of which af- fected the students at La Sierra. The Sunrise Staff felt it would be interesting to summarize some of these so that in the years to come students could look back and remember these important events. John Lennon Killed The death of John Lennon on Decembe 1980, at the age of forty, was indeed a major tra- jedy. The world was in a state of mourning when they heard of his death. Lennon was a former member of the group the Beatles , which made him an important part of the growth of Rock-n- Roll during the sixties. He was an excellent composer and writer of lyr- ics. Throughout his years with the Beatles and fo lowing their breakup, his contributions to the mu- sic world became immeasurable. On the Sunday after his death, there was a memorial service held throughout the world. Millions of people got to- gether with others and sang his songs which forever live on in our memories. Both John Lennon and his music will be missed very much but never will be forgotten. The Hostage Crisis The release of the fifty two Americans was a joyous time and a relief to all of America. The captivity in Iran lasted fourteen and a half months. The hostages were taken captive by militants who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, assuming that the United States supported the Shah and was plotting the Shah ' s return. On November 19 and 20, 1979, five women and thirteen blacks were released. Later in April of 1980, an unsuccessful rescue at- tempt took place. The negotiations for the release of the hostages were long and critical. Warren Christopher was the main negotiator from the United States, while the Algerians and their quiet and steady diplomacy helped the negotiations go more smoothly. At first Iran demanded $24 billion dollars as a ransom, actually they received their assests that were frozen at the time of the embassy takeover. When the fifty two Americans ar- rived at Wiesbaden, West Germany, a cheer went up from the crowd as the first of two U.S. Air Force transports touched down at the U.S. military base near Frankfort. Before the hostages came home, they were given physi- cals and psychological tests. Only family members were allowed to meet the hostages personally at West Point on the day of their arrival in the United States. This historic event was both agonizing and humiliating to America. There were times of false starts and faded hopes during the 444 day crisis. The climax was dramatic in that the release took place at the time of exchange of presidential power from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. Now that it is over, we can hope that this was a once in a lifetime happening.