Richard Morefield
Encyclopedia
Richard Henry Morefield served in the United States Foreign Service
and was one of the 66 staff members at the American embassy in Teheran who were taken captive by a militant Islamist student group called the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line
on November 4, 1979, as part of what became known as the Iran hostage crisis
. He was one of 52 Americans who were held as a hostage for 444 days, until negotiations for the remaining captives being held hostage were concluded with the signing of the Algiers Accords
on January 19, 1981, with their release coming the following day.
. He served for two years in the United States Army
, attaining the rank of first lieutenant and received his master's degree in 1954 from the University of California, Berkeley
after completing his military service. He joined the United States Foreign Service
in 1956.
to Iran. After the embassy was surrounded by Islamist militant students, the building was taken over. He was able to send a group of five Americans away by car who were able to take refuge in the Canadian Embassy. Morefield was with a group of about two dozen employees who had tried to leave the embassy compound but were captured a few blocks away by a group of students. In all, 66 Americans were taken hostage with the group demanding that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, the deposed Shah
who had been allowed to enter the United States, be returned to Iran for trial. A group of 13 female and African-American hostages were released in the weeks after the seizure and a seriously ill hostage was released in July 1980, leaving Moorfield among the 52 American captives who would ultimately be held for 444 days.
Moorfield was one of a group of six Americans who was at first taken to a school in Teheran, where they were placed in a shower room and had rifles pointed at them, marking the first of three mock executions he would ultimately face. Returned to the embassy compound in December, Moorfield was put in a windowless basement storage room that he had to share with eight other hostages, leaving him with only enough room to take two or three steps in any direction. He and his fellow hostages had little to do but play card games and checkers with each other. Moorefield took up a regular exercise regimen, doing push ups, sit ups and jogging around his cubicle for an hour each day. He lost more than 30 pounds by the time he was released and joked that "if I'm smart, this might have added 10 years to my life".
After the Algeria Accords were signed on January 19, 1981, Moorfield and the other captives were given medical examinations and were released the next day, placed on buses surrounded by crowds shouting "Bad, bad, America's bad" and leaving the country on an Algerian airplane. He called his wife after they landed in Germany and told her that "those people tried to break us", but that "we beat them". Moorfield was reunited with his wife and children at Stewart International Airport
on January 25. His wife recalled her disbelief that she was finally seeing her husband, saying "Until that moment, I really didn't believe it was over. Then, of course, I ran, too. We didn't say anything for several minutes".
where he served as consul general in Guadalajara
and as the economic counselor in the American Embassy in Mexico City
, his final posting.
Amid reports in 2005 that newly elected President of Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been one of the student radicals involved in the embassy takeover, Morefield said he didn't recognize him as "I was not one of those on which they spent a lot of time". Years after his release he held no grudge against the people of Iran, telling an interviewer from the BBC
in 2006 that "I cannot equate what I know of Iran and its culture with the militant students who held me for 444 days" calling the country "a society with a lot of different groups which can contribute to a new modern Iran if they're given the chance".
Morefield died at age 81 on October 11, 2010, in Raleigh, North Carolina
due to pneumonia
. He was survived by his wife, Dorothea, as well as by a daughter and four sons. His son Rick had been killed in 1976 by a gunman during a robbery of a Virginia restaurant. Morefield recalled that the experience of dealing with the death of his son had given him greater strength to make it through the hostage crisis.
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
and was one of the 66 staff members at the American embassy in Teheran who were taken captive by a militant Islamist student group called the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line
Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line
Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line , also translated as Muslim Students of the Imam Khomeini Line, was an Iranian student group that occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979...
on November 4, 1979, as part of what became known as the Iran hostage crisis
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
. He was one of 52 Americans who were held as a hostage for 444 days, until negotiations for the remaining captives being held hostage were concluded with the signing of the Algiers Accords
Algiers Accords
The Algiers Accords of January 19, 1981, were brokered by the Algerian government between the United States and Iran to resolve the Iran hostage crisis. The crisis arose from the takeover of the American embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, and the taking hostage of the American staff there...
on January 19, 1981, with their release coming the following day.
Early life and education
Morefield was born on September 9, 1929, in Venice, California and grew up in San Diego. His college background focused on history, earning his undergraduate degree in the subject in 1951 from the University of San FranciscoUniversity of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
. He served for two years in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, attaining the rank of first lieutenant and received his master's degree in 1954 from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
after completing his military service. He joined the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
in 1956.
Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, Moorfield was in the American embassy in Teheran, where he was serving as the United States consul generalConsul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
to Iran. After the embassy was surrounded by Islamist militant students, the building was taken over. He was able to send a group of five Americans away by car who were able to take refuge in the Canadian Embassy. Morefield was with a group of about two dozen employees who had tried to leave the embassy compound but were captured a few blocks away by a group of students. In all, 66 Americans were taken hostage with the group demanding that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
, the deposed Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
who had been allowed to enter the United States, be returned to Iran for trial. A group of 13 female and African-American hostages were released in the weeks after the seizure and a seriously ill hostage was released in July 1980, leaving Moorfield among the 52 American captives who would ultimately be held for 444 days.
Moorfield was one of a group of six Americans who was at first taken to a school in Teheran, where they were placed in a shower room and had rifles pointed at them, marking the first of three mock executions he would ultimately face. Returned to the embassy compound in December, Moorfield was put in a windowless basement storage room that he had to share with eight other hostages, leaving him with only enough room to take two or three steps in any direction. He and his fellow hostages had little to do but play card games and checkers with each other. Moorefield took up a regular exercise regimen, doing push ups, sit ups and jogging around his cubicle for an hour each day. He lost more than 30 pounds by the time he was released and joked that "if I'm smart, this might have added 10 years to my life".
After the Algeria Accords were signed on January 19, 1981, Moorfield and the other captives were given medical examinations and were released the next day, placed on buses surrounded by crowds shouting "Bad, bad, America's bad" and leaving the country on an Algerian airplane. He called his wife after they landed in Germany and told her that "those people tried to break us", but that "we beat them". Moorfield was reunited with his wife and children at Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport is located in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, New York and over north of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The airport is located in the Town of Newburgh and the Town of New Windsor."." U.S. Census Bureau...
on January 25. His wife recalled her disbelief that she was finally seeing her husband, saying "Until that moment, I really didn't believe it was over. Then, of course, I ran, too. We didn't say anything for several minutes".
After release from Iran
Morefield was assigned to head the State Department's Office of Caribbean Affairs and was assigned to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
where he served as consul general in Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
and as the economic counselor in the American Embassy in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, his final posting.
Amid reports in 2005 that newly elected President of Iran
President of Iran
The President of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in, and the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; although subordinate to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state...
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been one of the student radicals involved in the embassy takeover, Morefield said he didn't recognize him as "I was not one of those on which they spent a lot of time". Years after his release he held no grudge against the people of Iran, telling an interviewer from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 2006 that "I cannot equate what I know of Iran and its culture with the militant students who held me for 444 days" calling the country "a society with a lot of different groups which can contribute to a new modern Iran if they're given the chance".
Morefield died at age 81 on October 11, 2010, in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
due to pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. He was survived by his wife, Dorothea, as well as by a daughter and four sons. His son Rick had been killed in 1976 by a gunman during a robbery of a Virginia restaurant. Morefield recalled that the experience of dealing with the death of his son had given him greater strength to make it through the hostage crisis.