Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - More than 30 years ago, Western New York became the center of the hostage crisis. when AP Correspondent Terry Anderson, of Batavia, was taken from a street in Lebanon and held captive for nearly seven years.
"I remember 'Nightline," the ABC television broadcast with Ted Koppel, that was devoted to the Iranian hostage crisis," said Tim Wenger, Market Manager of Audacy Buffalo.
The program was devoted to the number of days Americans were being held captive. Anderson was one of America's longest held hostages at 2,454 days.
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Tim shared his memories of the story with WBEN on Monday after learning of the death of Anderson at the age of 76.
It was a major story at the time, locally and nationally. How did it stay in the
headlines, year after year?
"One name," Wenger said. "Peggy Say. She traveled to Washington and overseas and kept the candle going for her brother."
Peggy Say fought tirelessly to win Anderson's release. She was constantly raising the awareness of people to the plight of her brother and other
hostages held by Hezbollah.
She started a campaign in WNY and around the nation of trying yellow ribbons to trees as a symbol of hope for her brother's return.
When word of Anderson's release was imminent, Wenger was part of a local media contingent that traveled to
Wiesbaden, Germany to witness the celebration as Anderson stepped out of a Black Hawk helicopter at the U.S. military hospital
on site.
It was December 4, 1991. With a huge grin on his face and a burst of energy, Anderson walked off the helicopter and into the arms of his sister.
"He appeared on a balcony," Wenger recalled. "It was reminiscent of any kind of appearance by a foreign dignitary. Terry Anderson came out on this balcony. It was a brief photo opportunity and I remember screaming, what about your sister Peggy Say? He responded, I love her. It was a very emotional scene," he added.
The saga of Terry Anderson is a painful one. After being tortured, beaten and spending long periods of time in solitary confinement during captivity, Anderson dealt with personal turmoil in the years that followed. He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. He was married and divorced three times and filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Peggy Say died in 2015.