An American hostage during the Iran crisis remembers Jimmy Carter

Among the many who mourn former President Jimmy Carter, not all can say he saved their lives.

Rocky Sickmann was a 22-year-old U.S. Marine stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries on November 4, 1979.

It defined his life, as well as much of Carter’s presidency.

“For the first 30 days I was sitting in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking that the Vietnam War had just ended and that no one cared about these thousands of veterans coming home,” the 67-year-old said. “Who’s going to care about Iran’s hostages?”

He said at the time he wasn’t even sure how much President Carter cared. It was a sentiment echoed by much of the American public. Many blamed Carter for failing to bring the hostages home for more than a year.

Political historians say part of the reason Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide – and served only one term as president – was his handling of the hostage crisis.

Minutes after Regan was sworn in, the hostages were released, although the deal had been in the works during Carter’s presidency.

Sickmann said Carter deserves to be forever admired for his tireless efforts to bring them home.

“He was a good man who wanted diplomacy. I found out later how deeply involved he was. He knew my parents. He took care of them and was meeting them in DC.”

When Sickmann finally met Carter, he wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion.

He laughs: “We met him in his pajamas! How is it possible to meet your commander in chief dressed like that?”

Rocky was flown with the other hostages to Wiesbaden, Germany, a year after they were taken hostage. The day after their arrival, Carter greeted them personally.

“It was a very exciting day because he used to be in the Marine Corps and he said meeting us was the happiest day of his life.”

The meeting was captured in a photograph that Carter would send to Sickmann 10 months after his ouster from the White House. It was signed: “To my friend Rocky Sickmann.”

But it was not the last time Mr. Sickmann saw him. Just 10 years ago, he ran into Carter at a baseball game in Georgia. He had an usher pass a note to the former president.

“He reads it, suddenly gets up, stands up and turns around. I get up and we greet each other.”

Like Carter, Sickmann focused on charitable work. He said he was inspired by the former president to create Folds of Honor, which offers scholarships to families of America’s fallen or disabled military and first responders.

“President Carter was a good Christian man, he was married to his wonderful wife and continued his life of service. I don’t know if I will ever be as good as him, but I hope I can do the same.”

The charity was created to honor the 8 American service members who died trying to rescue the hostages. In 1980, the mission, called Eagle Claw, failed disastrously after three helicopters failed. It was the political last straw for Carter: although he won the Democratic nomination, he was annihilated in that year’s election by Ronald Reagan.

But while the Iran hostage crisis would be a dark mark on Carter’s political legacy, Sickmann said he owes his life to Jimmy Carter.

“Morning, noon and night, for 444 days, I never prayed so much in my life, hoping that God would be on our side,” he said.

“But President Carter also kept us alive. He kept us in front of the world, making sure people prayed for us (too).”