(DailyDig.com) – Terry Anderson, the Associated Press journalist who had been a hostage of Hezbollah in Lebanon after he was kidnapped in 1985, died on April 21 at 76 years old.
His daughter, Sulome Anderson, revealed that his death was the result of complications from heart surgery he had recently. She stated that he died in his Greenwood Lake home in New York.
The VP of the AP, Julie Pace, said that Anderson was dedicated to reporting as an eyewitness wherever his job took him. He showed resolve and bravery in his dangerous assignments. His courage while reporting from Lebanon and as a hostage showed his commitment to his craft. They valued the sacrifice he made for his work.
His daughter said that he didn’t like the label ‘hero’ for enduring his hostage situation, but people continued to call him that. She visited him last week and asked if he had anything else he wished to accomplish with his life, and he replied that he had already lived and accomplished enough. He told her that he was content.
Hezbollah, a group of Shiite Muslims, abducted him in Lebanon during a chaotic war. His abductors blindfolded him, beat him, and he was chained up in many different locations during his nearly seven years of captivity.
The Iran-supported militants stated that the kidnapping was in response to American-made weapons used by Israel to strike their targets in Lebanon. They also tried to use the kidnapping to force the US to sell arms to Iran.
After his release in 1991, he married his fiancé and met his daughter, who was born during his captivity.
He wrote his memoir, “Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years,” in 1993. A review of the book stated that it was the love story of a journalist who felt guilty about a failed marriage and subsequent love relationship that gave him comfort during his hostage ordeal.
Anderson’s wife, Madeleine; daughters, Sulome and Gabrielle; sister, Judy; and brother, Jack, survived him. Sulome stated that arrangements for a memorial service are pending.
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