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Zimmermann, Benjamin Christian
`Normal flight quickly 0 turned to terrorqviole ce (Note: This is the first in a series of excerpts reprinted by permis- sion from Hostage In A Hostage World (Concordia Publishing House, 135 pages) by Christian Zimmermann of Cascade. Zim- mermann was flight engineer on TWA Flight 847, which was hi jacked by Arab terrorists this summer.) By Christian Zimmermann Flight 847 began like any other light. Our "weight slip" showed that we were about three - quarters full; but, because of a canceled flight to New York, some people had chosen to fly with us to Rome and transfer there to a New York -bound flight. At the last minute we ended up with every seat full: 145 passengers, five flight attendants (four, plus Mrs. Uli Derickson as purser), and three pilots -John Testrake as the captain, Phil Maresca as the co- pilot, and myself as the flight engineer. Uli Derickson and I greeted the passengers as they came up the stairs. One girl said that she hated to leave Greece. I asked if she'd been on vacation. "Oh, yes," she said, "two glorious weeks on the beach. I'd much rather be there than going home." I didn't notice anything unusual about anybody; they were just a typical group of tourists. We finally got under way shortly before 10 a.m. local time, and everything was still normal. Fifteen minutes later, after we were airborne and well into the climb, we in the cockpit heard a commotion in the back - a lot of jumping around, someone shouting, "Oh, no!" and some banging. And there were a lot of other noises - pounding on the door, shouting, and the hostess call - button ringing furiously in the cockpit. Things no longer sound- ed normal. Since I was sitting closest to the door, I looked through the peephole. I saw a gun very clearly and a man with a grenade in his hand. Hijack! I considered the alternatives. All sorts of people had given us pilots all sorts of good advice, procedures to follow, things to do and not to do. But at this point the hijackers were kicking very hard on the door to get into the cockpit. Looking through the peephole, I could see they were trying to figure out the best angle from which to shoot off the door latch. "That's all we need," I thought, "someone shooting through the door into the cockpit!" So' I told Testrake and Maresca that we were being hijacked. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any unusual emotions at that point. Perhaps I was too busy to feel much of anything. I started thinking about what I had to do in this situation. It was a matter of thinking on our feet and draw- ing on a lot of previously assimilated training. I know our adrenaline started building. I got back into my seat, strap- ped myself in, and asked John and Phil, "Okay, are you ready? Well, here we go." And I opened the door. The hijackers burst in yelling, "This is a hijack! This is a hi- jack!" and immediately started pistol- whipping us. They could have just walked in, pointed the pistol, and told us where they wanted to go. Instead, they were really savage. Perhaps they felt that they had to physically abuse the crew in order to gain control of the plane. They started banging around on all three of us. The first couple of times they tried pounding and even kicking Phil - which proved to be difficult in the close quarters of the cockpit. Ultimately they found it was much easier to pound on me because I was closest to the door. Each time they went in and out of the cockpit for perhaps the first half -dozen times (for about an hour), they would pound on me. They usually pounded on my shoulders with the butt of the gun. Most of it I bore fairly well - except when they cracked me on the back of the skull a couple of times. Then I saw stars. But I also survived that. We were, however, very scared. We saw the grenade with the pin pulled, and we knew we were over the open waters of the PAGE A-- 6 - -THE STAR - NEWS -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1985 ow car e . "Looking through thepeephole, Icould Bee they were trying toftgure out the best angle from which to shoot off the door latch. " Mediterranean. We had heard about suicide missions. direction, check wind direction And as soon as they started beating on us and yelling, and strength, check whether we had enough fuel, and we wondered, "How crazy they? What are their in- tentions make other flight changes. That's a frustrating ?" When we finally - process if you can't talk. caught the word "Algiers," they didn't understand our response, "Okay, Plus, while we had to comply with their demands we also tried we'll go to Algiers." We started getting out maps to figure out how we could gain control of the situation. In the and talking with each other about how to comply, but meantime, we had to handle it their way. their immediate response was, "Don't talk! We go to Algiers! We quickly realized -we couldn't do it their No talking!" But we needed to talk in order to plot our way. We didn't have enough fuel to go to (Continued on page q_6) ... Zwnmermann (Continued from Page A -1) that's the crux of their problems," he said. "I think their God is a different God and that's what's causing the conflict." The solution to conflicts bet- ween the Islamic and Christian worlds will require fundamental changes in how people approach their lives, he said. "The solutions are not institu- tional or governmental," Zim- mermann said. "The solutions lie in what individuals believe to be true. We can help each other in- dividually, not institutionally. Only on that level will change take place." Zimmermann said he went back to work with TWA on domestic flights only about six weeks after his the release. He has not been scheduled for overseas flights, but he said he would have no fear returning to Athens, Greece, where the Flight 847 hijackers boarded. "The people in Athens were victimized by the criminal aspect, the demented criminal minds," he said. "Everybody was a victim of that." Zimmermann said the the ordeal has made him more confi- dent in himself. "I'm being led by God and I feel good about it," he said. "I'm more bold in my dedication to getting on to the more important things in life." To that end, he said he may soon leave TWA to give more time to the ministry. Copies of Hostage In A Hostage World are on sale for $6.95 at Wheeler's Valley Phar- macy in Cascade and Bill's Gas and Grocery in McCall. (C¢a(inued from Page A -1) Alders. We had to fill up samTewhere else first. This too cagsd us a great deal of anxiety b&eduse they didn't understand wP;at ,';we were saying. fOe(�„ „ We said and blit:Zthinga ` clicked Fina11y oUli f4; she could communicate wflbl3ne of the hijackers in Ger- mltd � and that they referred to fa"t�as benzin. vC,assured the hijackers that if w '.'.led up with "benzin" wherever they wanted, then we cOOk fly them to Algiers. With odr :169gestion, they decided on Bert; We then settled into a ra ti he that seemed acceptable to them; with the exception that we couldn't talk, either with each other or on the radio. ;It - wasn't trouble -free, however. The pain from the beatings, the possibility of more beatings, and our concern for the passengers forced us to remind tc Ives continually that we had keep up with the airplane. The 727 is not fully computerized, so pilots ,have a lot of things to do. It, was. easy to become distracted by, the presence of the hijackers. On the other hand, working with the 04rplane kept our minds busy with the job at hand rather than fretting about the situation. 'As I think back, I am thankful to the Lord that the cockpit door had. a tendency to swing shut. I tried to keep it open so that the hijackers wouldn't get suspicious and start jumping around again, but nothing worked. So, first they kicked out a vent on the bot- tcfm of the door, evidently to use the opening as a space through which they could threaten us or throw a grenade. Then one of the hijackers used the vent to beat on the door knob until he broke off the entire assembly, leaving just a hole. I think he spent 10 minutes whack- ing away at that thing. It was a good outlet for his frustrations. At least it was better than beating away on one of us or on one of the passengers or flight atten- dants. It was just one more little thing that the Lord took care of. s Wha- ELM d1eir intentiorm,� We didn't calm down much on the way to Beirut, but we did have time to pray. It was a matter saying, "Okay, Lord, I've depended upon You for lots of little things. Now I've got to de- pend on You to work things out. as we go on from here." I knew the plane well and almost subconsciously did my job while I consciously tried to think of ways out of the problem. "Lord Jesus, give me some ideas; or at least lead me in the right direction." The prayer isn't much different from what all Christians pray as they conduct their normal business affairs - ex- cept that more was at stake. By praying constantly and put- ting everything in the hands of God, my anxiety didn't show much. I was shaking inside, but I could look at myself and not see any shaking on the outside. It was a curious sensation to say, "Scared - I feel scared; but we just keep moving along. Yet I wish I didn't feel quite so shaky on the inside." Somehow, the more I had to operate the equip- ment, the more my mind was off the possibility of it all blowing up in my face. About the time we flew past Cyprus, we came into radio con- tact with Beirut, which did not want us to land. We told Beirut that we didn't want to land there either, but we were being forced to land, and we would land - and, in fact, all we needed was fuel because the hijackers' intentions were not to come to Lebanon but to go to Algeria. Finally, Beirut was convinced and cleared us. The landing was normal. We taxied around onto a parallel taxiway. There the hi- jackers became extremely ner- vous. They did not want us to taxi any further, although a "Follow -Me" truck came toward us to lead us to the fuel area. But the truck stayed away because the hijackers were hanging out the window and waving their pistols around. Following a great deal of radio talk with the tower, they worked out some kind of agreement, and we followed the vehicle into the fuel pits and filled up. As we taxied out after our hour - and -a -half stop in Beirut, we got a little bit of information about the passengers. They were doing okay, all things considered. We learned later that 19 women and children had been released, sliding out of the forward door. The flight from Beirut to Algeria was somewhat unevent- ful, except the hijackers con- tinually looked for us to trick them. They feared that everytime we talked with each other we were conspiring against them. That was, of course, on our minds; but in reality we were too busy for any elaborate plans. Our first concern was to get the airplane back on the ground; we didn't want anything to go wrong. We hoped that if we could just get the hijackers to Algeria, they would make their speeches and demands, seek asylum, leave the airplane, and denounce the world or whatever country they wanted. (At this point, we weren't real- ly sure of what they were demanding; everything had been shouted in Arabic.) We just prayed that they would be con- tent to leave the airplane and that the passengers would be safe. During this first trip to Algeria, however, the passengers were not safe. It was on, this leg of our journey that the beatings` began. Having identified the military people on board, the hi- jackers brought forward Kurt Carlson, a major in the Army Reserve, as the first one to beat severely. They tore the armrest off my seat and used it to club him heavi- ly, leaving him slumped on the floor in the cockpit door. Then, on the ground in Algiers, they dragged him back into a seat, probably trying to set an example for the other passengers that they were serious about their "mis- sion." It had its effect. This four -hour flight from Beirut tous, then Cyprus, en C e h Crete. We en had a long stretch of open sea un- til Malta. Soon thereafter, Tunisia radioed that we did not have permission to fly in their air space. We demonstrated on the map to the hijackers that we would center our route northwest between Sicily and Tunisia and then turn back a little more straight west for Algiers. About 100 miles out of Algiers, the hijackers started making their speeches. Apparently, their demands were voiced at this time. Algiers naturally told us that they were closed and that we could not land. We told them that we were going to land because if we did not, the hijackers would blow up the airplane. (We weren't sure what Algiers would do, but we figured that it couldn't be any worse that being blown up in the air.) We proceeded and Algiers opened the airport. We taxied down to the end of the runway and stopped, surrounded by the Algerian military. We shut down the engines and awaited further instructions. There was a lot of talk back and forth between the hijackers and the tower - a lot of demands - but we just sat there waiting for the hijackers to tell us what to do. Apparently, the demands were not being met - so we sat and sat. We had the auxiliary power unit running, with the air conditioners going full force, but with a plane full of people at midday, it got hotter and hotter. Some of the passengers were beginning to suf- fer from the heat, but there was nothing we could do. We received sporadic reports from the flight attendants, primarily Uli, about what was go- ing on in the passenger section. And, at about this time, we learn- ed of the hijackers' demands - that the Lebanese hostages in 'Israel be released. This is when we all - crew and passengers - first realized that we were hostages and not just hi- jacked. Now we began to under- stand that we were pawns - bargaining chips - in some Middle East political situation. " " " W h e n w e r e a l i z e d w e w e r e h o s t a g e s , w e f e l t s o m e w h a t s a f e r b e c a u s e t h e h i j a c k e r s n e e d e d u s t o m a k e a t r a d e . H o w e v e r , t h a t f e e l i n g d i d n ' t l a s t l o n g . B e c a u s e t h i n g s d i d n o t g o w e l l , t h e h i - j a c k e r s b e c a m e a g i t a t e d a n d t h e b e a t i n g s i n t e n s i f i e d . T h e b e a t i n g s c a u s e d m e t o f e e l a g r e a t d e a l o f d i s r e s p e c t t o w a r d t h e s e p e o p l e w h o c l a i m e d , i n t h e n a m e o f t h e i r r e l i g i o n , t h a t t h e y c o u l d d o t h i s t o i n n o c e n t p e o p l e . A n d t h e a n g e r ! I c a n r e m e m b e r t h e i r f a v o r i t e s a y i n g a s t h e y w e r e b e a t i n g o n C a r l s o n : " Y o u s - - o f a b - - - - ! Y o u s - - o f a b - - - - ! " T h e y r e p e a t e d t h i s o v e r a n d o v e r a g a i n . A n d a f t e r C a r l s o n , t h e y s t a r t e d o n t h e N a v y S e a l s . T h e b e a t i n g s a l s o c a u s e d m e a g r e a t d e a l o f f r u s t r a t i o n . E v e r y t h i n g i n s i d e m e s a i d t o g o t o t h e v i c t i m ' s d e f e n s e - y e t I d i d n ' t k n o w h o w t o d o i t s a f e l y . W h i l e ' o n e h i j a c k e r d i d t h e b e a t i n g , t h e o t h e r h e l d a g u n o r a g r e n a d e . I t d i d n ' t m a t t e r i f w e w e r e o n t h e g r o u n d o r a i r b o r n e , w e c o u l d n ' t d o a n y t h i n g w i t h o u t t h e m b l o w i n g u p t h e a i r p l a n e . O u r o n l y c o n s o l a t i o n w a s t h a t t h e v i c t i m s w e r e s u r v i v i n g . I d i d g e t t o g l a n c e d o w n w h e r e t h e y w e r e s l u m p e d , a n d t h e y l o o k e d p r e t t y b a d ; b u t I c o u l d s e e t h a t t h e y h a d n o t b e e n k i l l e d . " " " I t h i n k b a c k n o w a n d w o n d e r w h a t i t w a s t h a t e n a b l e d m e t o f e e l f r u s t r a t e d a n d y e t , i n a c a l m s o r t o f w a y , t o b e d e l i b e r a t e i n m y a c t i o n s a n d t o c o n t i n u e w i t h w h a t n e e d e d d o i n g . S o m e t i m e s I f e l t g u i l t y a b o u t b e i n g c a l m - a n d I w o n d e r w h y I w a s . T h e o n l y t h i n g I c a n t h i n k o f i s t h e s t o r i e s f r o m m y p a s t , a b o u t m y f a m i l y a n d m e b e i n g h e l d h o s t a g e i n C h i n a d u r i n g W o r l d W a r 1 1 . M y f a t h e r h a d b e e n a m i s - s i o n a r y i n S h a s i , C h i n a , s i n c e 1 9 2 8 . W h e n t h e J a p a n e s e o v e r r a n t h e c o u n t r y a n d o c c u p i e d S h a s i i n J u n e 1 9 4 0 , t h e y w e r e e v i d e n t a l l y c o r d i a l e n o u g h t o u s . B u t a f t e r t h e b o m b i n g o f P e a r l H a r b o r w e w e r e c o n s i d e r e d p r i s o n e r s o f w a r . A f t e r f o u r m o n t h s w e w e r e m o v - e d t o H a n k o w f o r t w o m o n t h s . F r o m t h e r e w e w e r e s h i p p e d o n t h e Y a n z t z e R i v e r t o S h a n g h a i f o r t h r e e w e e k s . I w a s o n l y a b o u t 1 V 2 t o t w o y e a r s o l d a t t h e t i m e , b u t m y p a r e n t s a n d o l d e r s i s t e r s l a t e r t o l d m e m a n y s t o r i e s o f w h a t t h e y s a w a n d h e a r d . I h e a r d m a n y t i m e s a b o u t t h e a t r o c i t i e s o f t h e J a p a n e s e o c c u p a t i o n a l f o r c e a s i t c o n f r o n t e d C h i n e s e m i l i t a r y p e o - p l e o r C h i n e s e s y m p a t h i z e r s . T h e s t o r i e s a r e n o t p l e a s a n t . B u t I a l s o h e a r d o f m y f a m i l y ' s u n w a v e r i n g t r u s t i n G o d a n d t h e i r p r a y e r s t o H i m t o d e l i v e r u s o u t o f t h o s e s i t u a t i o n s . A n d H e d i d . O n J u n e 2 9 , 1 9 4 2 , w e w e r e s e n t t o L o u r e n c o M a r q u e z , M o z a m b i q u e , ' w h e r e w e w e r e i t r a d e d f o r J a p a n e s e p r i s o n e r s o f w a r . F r o m t h e r e w e s a i l e d a r o u n d S o u t h A f r i c a t o R i o d e J a n e i r o a n d t h e n o n t o N e w Y o r k , w h e r e w e a r r i v e d o n A u g . 2 5 , 1 9 4 2 . M y f a m i l y ' s s t o r i e s t o l d n o t o n l y o f t h e i r d e l i v e r a n c e b u t o f m i n e , n o t o n l y o f t h e S a v i o r ' s p r o t e c t i o n f o r t h e m b u t a l s o f o r m e . A s t h e y e a r s w e n t b y I b e g a n t o l e a r n m o r e o f m y p a r e n t s ' G o d a n d t o t r u s t i n H i m . I d e v e l o p e d a l i f e o f t r u s t a n d p r a y e r . I g r e w t o d e p e n d m o r e a n d m o r e o n G o d f o r m o r e a n d m o r e o f t h e a c - t i v i t i e s i n m y l i f e . T h e t r u s t g r e w t o m a t u r i t y . A n d n o w , d u r i n g t h i s c r i s i s , t h e s a m e t r u s t c a r r i e d d o v e r . I t w a s s i m p l y a c o n t i n u a - t i o n , a l t h o u g h n o w i n a m o r e d e s p e r a t e s i t u a t i o n . T h e r e w a s n o g r e a t c h a n g e . T h e r e w a s n o s u d d e n t u r n i n g t o G o d . I m e r e l y e x p e r i e n c e d a t r a n - s i t i o n f r o m l i f e ' s o r d i n a r y s i t u a - t i o n s t o a v e r y e x t r a o r d i n a r y o n e . I n A l g i e r s , t h e h i j a c k e r s w e r e v e r y d e s p e r a t e , a n d w e w o r r i e d t h a t t h e y m i g h t t r y f o r a n a l t e r - n a t e " s u c c e s s " : s u i c i d e . T h e y s e e m e d t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h i s w o u l d m a k e t h e m - a n d I s l a m - l o o k g l o r i o u s i n t h e e y e s o f t h e w o r l d . W h a t a t w i s t e d a n d c o r r u p t t e a c h i n g t h a t G o d w o u l d b e - p l e a s e d w i t h t h e m b l o w i n g u p t h e m s e l v e s a n d m a n y i n n o c e n t p e o p l e ! S u r e l y S a t a n i s b e h i n d s u c h t h o u g h t s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , w e k n e w t h a t G o d w o u l d h e a r o u r p r a y e r s a n d w e p r o v e d t h a t H e w o u l d d e l i v e r u s , a n d w e t r u s t e d t h a t n o m a t t e r w h a t , H e w o u l d b e w i t h u s , e v e n i f t h e h i j a c k e r s d i d b l o w u s - a n d t h e m s e l v e s - a p a r t . , B e l i e v e m e , I p r a y e d a g r e a t d e a l f o r w i s d o m i n w o r d s a n d a c - t i o n s s o t h a t w e w o u l d n ' t d o s o m e t h i n g s t u p i d . W e a l l h a d b e g u n a l r e a d y t o f o r m u l a t e t h e i d e a o f " m a x i m u m s u r v i v a l , " o f m e e t i n g t h e h i j a c k e r s ' d e m a n d s i n a n y w a y t h a t w e c o u l d , o f s a l v a g i n g t h e s i t u a t i o n w i t h o u t g e t t i n g a n y b o d y h u r t . T h i s w a s n o t a m i l i t a r y s i t u a t i o n , s o t h e r e c o u l d b e n o " a c c e p t a b l e l o s s e s . " W e h a d h o p e d t h a t e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d b e o v e r w h e n t h e h i j a c k e r s g o t o f f t h e p l a n e i n A l g i e r s a n d f o u n d a s y l u m . T h a t h o p e w a s n ' t t o b e . E v e n s o , w e k n e w t h a t a s e a c h m o m e n t p a s s e d , G o d h a d k e p t u s a l i v e a l i t t l e l o n g e r f o r s o m e p u r p o s e . W e d i d n ' t k n o w y e t w h a t t h a t p u r p o s e w a s g o i n g t o b e o r w h y w e w e r e a l i v e r i g h t n o w . B u t i t w a s i m p o r t a n t , a t l e a s t i n m y e y e s , t h a t w e r e m a i n a b s o l u t e l y c o n s i s t e n t i n b e h a v i o r a n d i n t r u s t i n g f a i t h . I t b e c a m e a d i s c i p l i n e d e f f o r t , r e a l l y , i n f a i t h a n d t r u s t t o p r a y s i m p l y : " O k a y , L o r d , i t ' s i n Y o u r h a n d s . W e h a v e t o t r u s t i n Y o u . W e ' v e t r u s t e d i n Y o u a l l o u r l i v e s , b u t i t s e e m s a l i t t l e m o r e c r i t i c a l a t t h i s p o i n t . W e ' r e n o t m a k i n g a n y c h a n g e i n o u r t r u s t , j u s t a d m i t t i n g t h a t i n t h i s c a s e i t i s e a s i e r t o t r u s t i n Y o u b e c a u s e t h e r e i s n o t h i n g e l s e w e c a n d o . L o r d , i t ' s a l l Y o u r s . W h a t a r e Y o u g o i n g t o d o w i t h u s ? " ( C o p y r i g h t ��, 1 9 8 5 C o n c o r d i a P u b l i s h i n g H o u s e , S t . L o u i s , M o . C o p i e s a r e o n s a l e f o r $ 6 . 9 5 a t W h e e l e r ' s V a l l e y P h a r m a c y i n C a s c a d e a n d B i l l ' s G a s a n d G r o c e r y i n M c C a l l ) . Star -News photo Cascade greets Zimmermann after his release elv-e ;S Cco,_ �, Days on plane were spent in fear, filth (Note: This is the second in a series of excerpts reprinted by permission from Hostage In A Hostage World (Concordia Publishing House, 135 pages) by Christian Zimmermann of Cascade. Zimmermann was flight engineer on TWA Flight 847, which was hijacked by Arab ter- rorists this summer.) By Christian Zimmermann By the afternoon of Monday, June 17, Day 4 of the hijacking, all of the passengers had been removed - most of them freed; 37 were still held hostage, scattered around Beirut. Testrake, Maresca and I re- mained on board the plane. The tension and anxiety remained. We wondered what was happen- ing to the others. And we wondered what might happen to us. At the same time, we tried to support each other and to pro- vide for each other's needs. We prayed together. We studied Scripture. (I've never had so much time to study Scripture and to pray.) On Sunday, June 23, Day 10 of the hijacking, Testrake and I held a worship service for ourselves. A lot of our time was spent handling small domestic affairs. We realized that as long as we were on the airplane, we had a responsibility for its ongoing maintenance. We were on duty the whole time we were there. Those duties included making sure that no damage was done to the airplane. And since we couldn't sit in the cockpit day after day, we spent a great deal of our time in the back. But as soon as we vacated the cockpit, the young guards gravitated to it. They loved it. They acted like high school seniors on a class trip. They played with the equip- ment, lowered and raised the aft stairs, ran excitedly up and down the aisles, and got excited about anything that came along. They loved to make as much commo- tion as possible - which included occasionally firing guns out the window to demand more food, cigarettes or Cokes. HOSTAGE IN A HOSTALOM ••--- - But sitting in the cockpit seem- ed to make them feel in control of this "pirate booty" they had cap- tured. They delighted in playing with things. Some of their play was harmless - such as turning the lights on and off at night. Some of their play could have caused serious damage, so we were con- tinually in and out of the cockpit, checking on what they had or hadn't done, trying to keep the systems from being damaged. We deactivated a number of systems so that they wouldn't be harmed. All this required vigilance on our part, but it also gave us a way to maintain control of the operation of the airplane so that it was in our hands and not theirs. The growing mess in the cockpit was discouraging. Pop would be spilled all over consoles and gauges. Cigarette ashes stuck to everything. Papers and other remnants of their search for boo- ty were all over the floor. And because the guards approached the plane through a field, they tracked mud all over everything. The plane was a mess. Most nights the plane became our own big red - and -white camper. We'd retire to the coach section, where the three seats across provided the longest space. We'd raise the arm rests and have some sort of bed - though not too spacious. Life was not too bad. We could live with most things - except their toilet habits, which were considerably different from ours. Although a clean people, many Middle Easterners are accustom- ed to squatting over an opening and then washing themselves. Doing this on the plane resulted in a great deal of mud up on the toilet seats and a lot of water floating on the floor. A total mess! We found it intolerable ac- cording to our Western bathroom habits. The lavatories were so bad that we tried to avoid using them. Phil Maresca had a particularly large appetite and was always hungry. But we would remind him, "Phil, you've got to remember that the more food you eat, the more often you're going to have to use the bathroom." The thought rapidly spoiled his appetite. We had to gain some control over the sanitation. Finally some Middle East Airlines people came on board to clean the airplane, and we explained our dilemma to them. As the solution, we set aside one of the aft lavatories strictly for our use. Sometimes our plan worked and sometimes not. The first doctor to give those of us on the plane a checkup ac- cused the guards of living in a pig pen. They didn't like hearing that. So, for a while, the lavatory plan worked. But the word didn't always get passed on from shift to shift, and pretty soon the guards would start using our lavatory again. But once we got on top of the job, we were able to keep the lavatories relatively clean. And, surprisingly, the guards soon learned from us how to keep a toilet clean. Q-4- z � I-,,-. C� L • • Whenever food wa brought aboard, the guards tended to mess up everything. After eating, garbage would be spread all over the airplane. Sometimes the left- overs would sit and rot for long periods of time, attracting flies. Mealtime itself was generally pleasant. We found the local Lebanese food delicious. For these feasts, we would lay down all the seatbacks, spread out the food, and sit around cross - legged. This was fine until our legs went to sleep or we'd get a cramp from sitting on some hard object, such as someone's machine gun. It seemed that the guards were continuously mislaying their guns. And, whenever a new shift of guards would come on board, wed have to help the ones leav- ing find their guns. We'd look under boxes of uneaten food, trays, folded down seats - wherever. It got to be humorous after a while - but it was still a serious situation. Even though we had many opportunities to take weapons, we weren't sure what advantage that would be. A gun battle on board would kill people - and the repercussions for the rest of the hostages could be disasterous. We also knew that negotiations were taking place, and we didn't want to turn the situation into some type of military operation. There were times we even felt that the guards were testing us. They would leave a gun conve- niently at our disposal and walk away, seeing what we would do with it. We wouldn't touch it. We felt that our actions spoke a con- sistent witness about a God of peace who did not condone war, fighting and killing. I believe it paid off - at least humanly. The guards ended up apologetic and sympathetic about the situation we were in, and they were anxious for our release. When we were finally freed, we know that they regarded Americans with a very high degree of esteem. I wonder what they thought of our God. (Next week: Leaning on the Lord.) Publishing hHoouSe 85St Concordia Louis, Mo. Copies are on sale for $6.95 at Wheeler's Valley Pharmacy in Cascade and Bill's Gas and Grocery in McCall.) s rte' J a • • o u�s�n. hol, mommg 3 1 a a :W ffi ,3 a to by Tom Gr_ ote Cascade Airport flanked by his wife, Melvia, and son, Steve.. • ermann talks with Christian Zun m. reporters at By Bradley Blum City Park. The crowd, estimated 3,500 to 4,000 people by Valley the Arnold Aviation building were 21 of Zimmermann's The Star -News at County Sheriff Blair Shepherd, to see Zimmermann friends wearing yellow T- shirts with a black lettering that spelled Benjamin Christian Zimmer- had gathered and hear speeches by him and out "WELCOME HOME mann gained a few thousand friends Thursday night. others welcoming him home. A few minutes earlier, about CHRISTIAN!" The excitement started at 8:27 Zimmermann, his wife and family were greeted with cheers 300 people greeted Zimmermann he by plane at Cascade as fingers began pointing off toward the southwestern horizon and shouts of welcome upon their as arrived Airport. where a small airplane came into return to Cascade after Zimmer- mann's ordeal as one of the The airport was a festive sight, milled about holding view. The plane turned out to be the American hostages held 17 days as people helium- filled balloons of several state- leased aircraft that carried his Lola, in Lebanon came to an end. "TWA Plight 847 has finally colors and signs that carried messages including "Praise the Gov. John Evans, wife, the Zimmermann children and landed," a smiling Zimmermann Lord! The hostages are home." other guests. told a cheering crowd at Cascade Lined up along the west wall of 5Z Z /V �_,w S ro, C,� .� C� Z )"u-Zv /off /`r'�S- ,About a minute after the passengers of the state plane had exited, a single- engine Cessna piloted by Ray Arnold of Arnold Aviation touched down. This proved to be the plane that the crowd was waiting for, and the more than 250 balloons were released into the air when Christian and Melvia Zimmer- mann stepped out of its door. A crowd of reporters and camera people quickly crowded around the plane, despite an earlier request from one of the homecoming organizers, Ron Neumann, that reporters wait to ask questions until a press con- ference scheduled for later. Zimmermann commented that he "rather liked being up in the air coming into here," and he thanked "Idaho and especially Cascade for keeping us in your prayers." They were then led past the human billboard and to the governor's car, which took the Zimmermanns and Evanses to the city park. As he was preparing to get into the governor's car, Zimmermann . was presented a bouquet of roses from Miss Idaho Co -ed, Michelle Villanueva of Emmett. At the city park, which overlooks Cascade Reservoir, the homecoming ceremony began with a prayer of thanksgiving by the Rev. Jack Ferguson of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Mc- Call, after which the crowd sang "God Bless America." The opening remarks came from Cascade Mayor Ward Hower, who read a declaration proclaiming Independence Week to also be Christian Zimmer - mann's week in Cascade. "I can assure you, Christian, that you won't get a ticket for anything this week, no matter what you do," Hower joked. In his remarks, Evans noted that he had asked all Idahoans to pray for the safe return of Zim- mermann and the other 38 hostages. "Our prayers were answered by God," Evans said. Evans also made note of the fact that Zimmermann's homecoming came as the town was celebrating the 209th an- niversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. "What more fitting day for his return," Evans said. "We Americans should have the right and freedom to travel around the world. " Zimmermann followed the governor to the microphone and gave an account of the previous four days' activities since the hostages' release from Beirut. He told of how the 39 hostages were taken from Beirut to Damascus, Syria, via a number of vehicles provided by various Lebanese militias. From Damascus they were flown to West Germany, and then most flew on to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where they were greeted by Presi- dent Reagan and their families. It was there that Melvia Zimmer- mann joined her husband. From Andrews AFB, they were driven to New . York and from there the Zimmermanns flew to St. Louis. In St. Louis, the Zimmer - manns visited Christian's family and paid their respects at the grave of his father, the Rev. Elmer Zimmermann, who died of heart failure during a prayer vigil two days after the hijacking. From `St. Louis they flew to Boise, where they were joined by the governor, and took off on the final leg to Cascade. At each stop along the way, Zimmermann said that a press conference was held. "It's just been click, click, click all the way," he said. "Nothing has demonstrated just how beautiful America is like this last leg of the trip with Governor Evans and Ray Arnold to Cascade International Air- drome," Zimmermann said in a facetious reference to the airport. Zimmermann suggested that at least onA of the hundreds of Yellow ribbons tied up around the town in his honor be left up until the seven Americans who remain prisoners in Lebanon are return- ed. During a short press con- ference after the ceremony, Zim- mermann was asked about the ex- tent of the injuries he suffered when he was reportedly beaten by the hijackers. He responded that he had been very thoroughly checked by doc- tors in Weisbaden and was found to have nothing more, serious than bruises. Zimmermann told reporter -s that the hijackers did nothing more serious than "some pound- ing on me. Nothing like what the Sea Bees went through." He was asked whether he thought the U.S. should retaliate for the hijacking. "Retaliation is not a word in my vocabulary, (but) the hijackers themselves should be brought to justice." Zimmermann had praise for the way both the crew of Flight 847 and his family dealt with the 17 -day ordeal. "I have this hand - picked group of people designed to stand up to anything," he said of his family. Zimmermann said that he read the entire New Testament of the Bible and had a good start on the Old Testament before his captivi- ty ended. He said that his religious faith was stronger as a result of the episode. "My beliefs have been strengthened and my thoughts on what's important have changed dramatically ... I would find it hard to think materialistically after this experience," he said. Both friends of the Zimmer - manns and people who had only come to know of them through news reports since the hijacking were on hand at the park for the homecoming celebration. "It's been good for Cascade, because it showed that a small community can pull together and support each other," Silvia Daley of Cascade said. "It was a good experience for me, because sometimes I think we all take freedom for granted," Daley said. Marilynn Callender of Cascade echoed Daley's sentiments about Zimmermann's ordeal bringing the town closer together. "I think the town is really a close -knit town to begin with and this really helps it to be more so," Callender said. Sarah Cludas of Meridian didn't know the Zimmermanns, but she said she had been very concerned about the fate of the hostages and kept close watch on the news for developments. "I thought it was terrific. I followed that pretty close," she said of the homecoming. "Now, it would be nice if the others could come home." Ron Wise, who wore the "C" in the human billboard at the air- port, summed up his satisfaction with the outcome of the hijacking by simply saying, "That was definitely an answer to prayer." I 5Aa 0( as�_F A__6__THF. STAR- NEWS -- WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1985 VP Photo by Tom Grote Part of the crowd at Cascade City Park cheers Zimmermann's remarks. Tonight, an interdenomina- tional community praise and thanksgiving service for Zimmer - mann's safe return will be held beginning at 7 p.m. in the Cascade High School gym, Neumann said. Wai6ng Photo by Bradley Blum Cascade residents tie yellow ribbons downtown. By Bradley Blum The Star -News Cascade friends of *Benjamin Christian Zimmermann have found frustration in their wait for news in the Beirut airline hijack- ing crisis, but they say that their faith in God has been strengthen- ed by the ordeal. "Through Christian and Melvia, this witnessing of their beliefs makes ours so much stronger," said Bill Wheeler, one of those friends of the TWA flight engineer held hostage since June 14. Wheeler is one of the organizers of a series of prayer vigils that have been held in St. John's Catholic Church in Cascade, which is shared by the town's Lutheran congregation that Zimmermann organized and presided over for more than three years. Wheeler, owner of Wheeler's Pharmacy, said that on one hand he is frustrated with the situation and skeptical about the outcome, but on the other hand he is op- timistic that Zimmermann will return safely. "I ,find it incredible that the Shiites are holding our innocent people to further their cause of freeing their prisoners," Wheeler said. However, he said that the IMelevision interview conducted last week with his friend through the window of a hijacked TWA Jetliner was encouraging to him. He had been alarmed by an earlier report that Zimmermann was beaten by the terrorists who have controlled the airliner for nearly two weeks. "At least we could see that he was well," Wheeler said. A later televised interview with Zimmermann conducted by the hijackers was just as disquieting to Zimmermann's friends as the first glimpse was comforting. "It was just so difficult to see that man with a gun at Christian's head," said Bill Leaf of the second interview. Leaf, principal at Cascade High School, echoed much of Wheeler's feelings about the frustration of the situation and the strength of faith required to cope with it. "The thing that's really frustrating is that those innocent people - the crew and passengers - are being used as pawns in a political game," Leaf said. He said that before the crisis, !' Zimmermann gave him advice on how to fight off the helpless feel - ing created by such situations. "He would always tell me to find strength in scripture. There are a lot of passages that can be helpful in a situation like this," Leaf said. "I'm sure that right now he's calling on these sections of scrip- ture to help him through this ordeal," he said. Leaf said that those passages tell him to trust in God, because humans can't deal with all situa- tions. "So instead of being frustrated and trying to deal with it, we have to accept it as it is," he said. Leaf said that having the hostage crisis strike someone so close to him has changed his perspective from what it was five years ago, when Americans were held for more than a year in Iran. "My attitude has certainly changed about hijackings. Before I was more of a strong - liner. Now, my major concern is that we get our folks home," he said. John Gahl, who was one of the original members of Zimmer - mann's congregation, also stress- ed that the lives of the hostages should come first. "I think we should try and get them back rather than try to save face. I think that's the most im- portant thing to get them home," said Gahl of the govern- ment's dealings with the hijackers and Amal leader Nabih Berri. Gahl, an employee of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said that the only way to deal with the crisis is to continue praying and hope that those, in- volved do the right thinks. Like the others, he said that Zimmermann's strong faith in' God is probably sustaining him quite well. He added that his friend is the kind of unique character that can bear up well under difficult circumstances. Gahl told of how Zimmermann came to be the pastor of Cascade's Lutheran congregation in a rather unorthodox manner. Normally, when people com- plete seminary training for the Lutheran Church, they are then assigned to a congregation that has a vacancy for a pastor, Gahl said. However, when Zimmermann finished his seminary training, he wrote a letter to the seminary president requesting that he be assigned to the yet- unorganized Cascade congregation, because his skill as an airplane pilot would enable him to minister to residents of the back country. Gahl said that even after his. resignation as pastor, Zimmer ;Hann continued his fly -in .Ministry. i; Besides their prayers, Valley' Bounty residents have also resur- rected a symbolic gesture of hope that has its roots in a popular Tony Orlando song and was first widely used during the U.S. -Em -: bassy takeover in Iran. On the evening of June 18, a group of Cascade women, with the blessings of the Cascade Chamber of Commerce, began decorating trees, utility poles and. road signs in the downtown area with yellow ribbons. Since then, yellow ribbons have shown up on similar fix- tures throughout the county, as well as on car aerials and lapels.. One tree that was decorated with ribbon was in front of the home of Phil and Yvette Davis. Yvette Davis said that they do not know Christian Zimmermann very well, but she is acquainted with his wife, Melvia, through a non - denominational religious summer school • to which both women took their daughters. "My daughter, Sarah, has k ? r, 4,�_ uv_� LA- - • ; on I 1 c1 1 :1 0 0 0 /Z_1 i long 1 I 1, ' y ;1= (Note: This is the third in a series of excerpts reprinted by permission from Hostage In A Hostage World (Concordia Publishing House, 135 pages) by Christian Zimmermann of Cascade. Zimmermann was flight engineer on TWA Flight 847, which was hijacked by Arab ter- rorists this summer.) By Christian Zimmermann "Lean on the Lord" has long been the motto for my life - but it wasn't always so. Sometime in 1972 my wife, Melvia, became very involved in Bible study. As a lifelong Lutheran, that challenged me to keep up with her rather than ex- pose my biblical stagnation. So I bought a contemporary English translation and began reading. I discovered exciting things in Genesis, things that I'd never paid attention to before. I knew I was hooked on Scripture when I found myself enjoying the genealogies. Everything I read in Scripture became a thrill. Though I previously had studied anything and everything to increase my knowledge, I began to truly understand the guidance of God as I read Pro- verbs, particularly 3:5 -7. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil." Finally, I understood that it was not necessary for me to understand how God did things; I merely needed to trust Him to do them. From then on, Melvia and I VW I 1 11 TALE IN A HOSTAGE WORLD '® grew constantly in our Bible study and in our prayer life. It was a dramatic breakthrough when we began praying out loud together. Our Bible study and prayer life seemed to go hand in hand from then on. Some kind of turnaround had occurred. I dislike using the term "crutch" when referring to God, but in this case it was as if I had discovered that spiritually, I had a broken leg. Rather than hobble along, it was a whole lot easier to lean on the Lord. I think Melvia felt the same. The Lord was at our side, and we were able to hang onto Him, to lean on Him. We needed Him, not just to teach us doctrinal truth, but to lead us down our path through life, including the ordinary decisions. We have found that when we trust in God and lean on the Lord for guidance, even in ordinary decisions, things work out most comfortably. We may end up go- ing in a direction that we or- dinarily wouldn't have taken, but in looking back we can see that the Lord has done the leading. It was a very pleasant experience to know and see that God was in- volved in our everyday lives. • • • Trusting God to guide our paths, to be with us and never leave us or forsake us all this became very important when the hijacking occurred. Although the first two fanatical Hezbollah members seemed to hold our lives in their hands, I knew that God would work things out and that I could trust Him to work out everything according to what He knew was best for us. It was clear to us that the almightly God of the universe controlled the situation. Whether we lived or died, the Lord's hand surrounded us. This is the nature of the God who reveals Himself to us in Scripture. That trust sustained us, especially during the first few days when we couldn't talk much. Later, as the plane sat on the ground in Beirut, John Testrake and I discussed this many times. We were amazed by our trust and by the fact that He put us together to support each other. Actually, I wasn't scheduled to be on Flight 847. The pilot who was assigned had already flown three flights in the area and had requested time off for personal business. Since I hadn't flown my third flight yet, I was assigned to fill in. In addition, this wasn't the flight the hijackers really wanted. They had planned to com- r 'Z,.r& mandeer the Athens -to -New York flight that had been cancel- led. To my mind, I'd have to be blind not to see the hand of the Lord in all this. He knew what evil was about to take place, and He was already working to bring His good out of it. And good it was to be together with such a strong Christian as John. What a wonderful fellowship we had thinking the same thoughts, lean- ing on the Lord in the same way! We were surprised by the number of small events that in and of themselves didn't seem very earth - moving; yet as time moved on turned out to be very important. For example, when Uli Derickson was assigned to this flight, who but God could have known we would need someone who spoke German fluently? Also, when we were enroute on the last leg back to Beirut, and the hijackers intended to go to Yemen or Tehran, someone from TWA convinced U.S. officials to let us on the plane make the final decision. Our choice to land at Beirut, ostensibly for fuel to get to Yeman or Tehran, proved to be part of God's plan for our release. The Lord provided us tension - breaking moments so that we could survive all of this emo- tionally. The first time in Algiers, when we were trying to obtain fuel, the airport demanded a credit card - a Shell credit card specifically. It was so ludicrous that it broke us up. Consider the in- congruity: the hijackers are wav- ing around loaded guns and grenades with pins pulled; Political speeches are being shouted over the radio; Pandemonium is everywhere - and the airport solemnly asks for a Shell credit card. The hijackers couldn't understand why we were laughing - and that made it seem all the more ridiculous. The Lord also provided us moments to "reach out and touch someone" in gentle but personal ways. For example, remember the girl who had been vacationing in Greece and whom I had greeted as she boarded the airplane at Athens? At one point in Algiers, she walked past me on the grounded plane and repeated, "I'd sure rather be on that beach again." We needed these little tension breakers. When we were on the ground in Beirut for the long haul, helping the guards find their misplaced weapons provid- ed such moments. It was almost funny when the guards discovered how to use the Public address system. At first they used it to "broadcast" Arabic music from their portable radios for our pleasure - but that got very old about midnight when they went on and on. Some of the guards began singing songs over the address system - even duets. We were also amused when they discovered how to turn on all the lights inside the plane. Again, that got old when it kept (Continued on Page A -2) Christian Zimmermann and his family as they were welcomed home to Cascade. ...Zimmermann (Continued from Page A -1) us from sleeping as they ran up and down the aisles. As Testrake and I later reflected on what God was doing, we realized that these antics of the guards not only provided ten- sion breaks for us, but they also forced us to figure out ways to deactivate the critical systems of the airplane. The process kept us mentally alert - another one of the seemingly minor processes that God was using to work all things for good. A few times during the latter days in Beirut, we were taken off the plane around midnight to shower at the fire station. While there, we visited with some well - educated and articulate Amal of- ficers - along with catching glimpses of old, clean, U.S. movies devoid of vulgarities and violence. From what we learned later, at least some of the other hostages had the same or similar ex- periences. Although it may not seem very significant, we saw the Lord's hand providing all this, allowing everyone to maintain sanity and to feel that the Lord was indeed sustaining them, preserving them, and hearing their prayers. (Next week: Going home.) (Copyright © 1985 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. Copies are on sale for $6.95 at Wheeler's Valley Pharmacy in Cascade and Bill's Gas and Grocery in McCall.) Christian Zimmermann, Cascade, autographs copies of his new book for customers Saturday. Zimmermann signs books, greets friends By ANGEL HERNANDEZ in backs. ping well, I had a little vaca- The Idaho statesman The bags were bursting with tion in the Mediterranean," Zim books, each one with the same mermann replied. His hostage or red cover, each one written by deal came as he was engineer or the same man. TWA Flight 847 from Athens tc It was Benjamin Christian Rome. He was held captive on hi: Zimmermann's book. With pa- plane in Algiers, Algeria, and Bei tience and a smile, he sat and rut, Lebanon, for 18 days. autographed each of the two Walt and Matilda Naegele hundred copies that admirers Boise, knew Zimmermann wher had bought Saturday at Boise's they all belonged to the same Lu Christian Supply bookstore. theran church in Boise. It was a patience and per- "A great witness to faith," Mrs severance befitting a clergy- Naegele said of the book. man who has been held hostage Her husband said, "It's Brea twice: once as an unknowing in- philosophy." fant in China and the second They already had read the boot time in June, when a group of twice. On Saturday, they went tc Shiite Moslem extremists hi- buy more. jacked an airplane on which C. Emerson Vedell, pastor o. Zimmermann served as a flight the King of Glory Lutherar engineer. Church, 3430 N. Maple Grove "He's a sweet man, isn't he," Road, tried to think of an explana tion of why so many came or one book buyer said of Zimmer- Saturday, many months after mann, an ordained Lutheran last summer's tension. minister. "Our society is very disturber Zimmermann's book recall- with the interceptions of innocent ing and analyzing last sum- people. That's an aspect," Vedel mer's ordeal, Hostage in a Hos- said. He also was curious to rear tage World, published by Con- Zimmermann's outlook on the cordia Publishers, was scooped causes of those interceptions of off the shelves at the store, 6880 hijackings. Fairview Ave., Saturday. Zimmermann has argued that Manager Don Young said all as he was held hostage, so were of the store's 225 copies were his captors by what he caller sold in the first hour of Zim- " "false prophets." mermann's two-hour auto- "I think that although God ha graphing stint. The price was-- been revealed to many people a $6.95. over the world, there have als "Flying was never hard as been many false prophets tha this, was it ?" storre e owner have twisted what he said," Zirr Harden Young asked Zimmer- mermann said. Only a few were curious Satur mann, who finally had a chance to relax his wrist. day about Zimmermann'; But Zimmermann has be- thoughts on terrorism. (He be lieves that terrorist incidents or come on old hand at signing au- tographs. He also has auto- planes and ships will subside graphed his book at shops in St. Zimmermann has continued t( Louis, Minneapolis and Bronx- serve as a flight engineer on TW,4 ville, N.Y. domestic flights.) Most just ex The book's sales in the East pressed how glad they were tc and the Midwest have surprised meet him; some shook his hand, him, but he said the response on and one woman kissed him. Saturday in Boise did not. The admirers asked him to sign He does, after all, live in Cas• the books to their husbands, cade, where he and his family wives, children, fathers, mothers, started a Lutheran Church mis- significant others or themselves. Many sion. Those who knew Zimmer- purchased more than one mann in Cascade, or who knew book. One man bought five books friends of his in Cascade or who and showed Zimmermann a list of knew him when he lived in people he wanted them signed Boise or when he was stationed for. at Mountain Home Air Force Even when the store ran out of books, Base came to see him Satur- some found other things for day. Zimmermann to write on. One Jess Owen, Boise, was one of woman had hoped to buy an auto- them. He knew Zimmermann graphed Zimmermann book for 25 years ago at Mountain her father, but the were one. get g Home. She instead bought -wel and "How are you! I followed you for her dad, who had to enter a all through that thing, Q Wren hospital Friday because of illness. said to Zimmermann, bo& slap - Zimmermann signed it. Uncertainty turns to relief as captors release TEA hostages ,, S (Note: This is the last in a series of excerpts reprinted by permis- sion from Hostage In A Hostage World (Concordia Publishing House, 135 pages) by Christian Zimmermann of Cascade. Zim- mermann was flight engineer on TWA Flight 847, which was hi- jacked by Arab terrorists this summer.) By Christian Zimmermann When we were about to leave the Beirut school yard for the se- cond time, we wondered, "Is it really, finally happening ?" We were divided into small groups and loaded into vehicles with Red Cross flags on the left rear fenders. We were given flowers and fruit. But then there was a stall. Now what? 1 was in a Peugeot with (Flight 847 pilot) Phil Maresca on my left and Richard Herzberg of Virginia Beach, Va., on my right. We sat there for a long time. The car got so hot we opened the door to let air blow through. Still we waited. Had some new snag come along to complicate the issue? We HOSTAGE IN A HOSTAGE WORLDII= never were told. Finally the caravan simply started. As we paraded slowly through the rubbled streets of Beirut, we Passed intersection after intersec- tion and row upon row of people. Everybody seemed to be lined up. Everybody was waving. A lot of people tried to shake our hands or at least touch us. Everyone was friendly. Our stop- and -go parade was just slow enough at first that the press, on foot, could keep up with us. They'd run ahead, stop to take pictures, then run ahead again. As we rolled toward the edge of town, we started picking up speed. Pretty soon we passed the fields on the southern out- ting, we welcomed the cooling air. The drive was only 80 miles, but as we went into the night, we started coming upon check- points. First Druze checkpoints, then Syrian. We were surprised by the rust color of the Syrian fatigues, but then noticed how well they blended into the red, rust colors of the terrain. Finally we came to a stop that turned out to be the Syrian border. For some reason we were detained, perhaps to get approval for the Lebanese Amal guards, who insisted on escorting us all skirts of town, swung around the airport, and headed east into the mountains. Traveling through Beirut, we had seen the evidences of war everywhere - pockmarked homes and apartments, buildings blown up, rubble nearly everywhere. Now as we proceeded farther into the hills, we were glad to leave the rubble of the war behind and en- joy the beauty of the country. We kept moving, next through Druze territory. We knew that as long as we moved, everything was okay - but we weren't out yet. We were still hostages, escorted by various military factions. As we climbed higher into the mountians and the sun was set- the way to the Syrian capital of Damascus. When we asked the Amal what they were going to do after they got there, they said they didn't know; they'd probably spend the night and go back to Beirut the next day. The highway to Damascus seemed to run six lanes, three each direction. We were able to travel quickly, but at one point the press pulled ahead and turned their cameras, including a very bright light, back on us. I wondered whether this would cause an automobile accident. That's all we needed! Thank God we had a professional driver. All in all, the mood was festive. Damascus As we neared Damascus, the hills precluded us from seeing the glow of city lights. Suddenly we were there. We began to feel that we were home, free at last. We had entered a civilized city. The streets were orderly and there was no evidence of war. Condominiums and apartments lined the boulevard as we came (Continued on Page A -2) ... immermann (Continued from Page A4) into town. We saw people actual- ly obeying traffic signals. And we saw no evidence of any military. What a beautiful contrast to Beirut! We wound our Nay through town and soon turned into the Damascus Sheraton. We were greeted by what appeared to be the whole hotel staff in their white uniforms. When we stop- ped, our Amal guards frantically jumped out and ran up and down past the vehicles, nervously trying to figure out how to remain in control of this situation. All of them had their weapons ready, and several of them carried grenade launchers, making a lot of people nervous with their Youthful excitement. No one was prepared for that, and we weren't sure what would happen next. Finally one of the hotel staff came out, armed with nothing more than a small two - way radio, and shooed them out the gate. In the hotel we were greeted by the American ambassador William Eagleton, who explained that we would not be spending the night there because the situa- tion was still tense; we weren't yet home free. An American C -141 was sitting on an airport ramp, waiting for us, but a news con- ference had been arranged first. Ambassador Eagleton reminded us how tenuous the arrangements remained and asked that we not become antagonistic during the news conference. He assured us that we were totally safe, and that cooperative hands were working toward our freedom. We then were led single file into the news conference - which was kept short to avoid the chance of leading questions pushing one of us into saying something that might offend someone. We left through the kitchen and relaxed for a while, waiting for the two large buses that would take us on the 20- minute ride to the Damascus airport. There, we passed Syrian Quards. (/."t -,9 6-) time was half -past midnight - the end of a long 17th day of being hostages. Cascade (Note: Zimmermann and the rest of the former hostages were flown first to West Germany and then to the United States, where he was reunited with his wife, Melvia, and his family.) We flew in formation to Cascade. As we swung in over the lake, we kept wide so that the governor had plenty of room to land at Cascade's little airport. Finally I began to feel that I was getting home. Things had been happening rather fast in the last 24 hours and now it was com- ing to a conclusion. We were greeted instantly by the press. For the first time the microphones stuck in our faces seemed to distance me from the crowd. Cascade greeted us with a truly amazing show of love and con- cern. In front of the hangar a str- ing of people lined up wearing yellow T- shirts, each one with a 5/ e. r /V letter on it spelling "Welcome Home Christian." And what a bunch of smiling faces that turn- ed out to be! From the airport we rode in the governor's limousine down Main Street, where another large group of people waited to greet us. What an honor to be the Fourth of July parade! Later, though, I told the sheriff that next year he'd have to find someone else to be the local hero. I could do this only once. We then drove down to the lakeside park for the public "Welcome Home." There were a lot of speeches, but one comment that meant a lot was one of my own: "TWA Flight 847 has final- ly landed." That evening, after Melvia and I were finally in our own home we decided to walk in the dark back to the park to watch the fireworks. The sky was a deep orange at the time. The moun- tains were silhouetted behind the lake and the fireworks were in full swing. Yes, Flight 847 really was over for me. Zimmermann to sign c_ opies of book Christian Zimmermann, who was held hostage on TWA Flight 847 earlier this year, will make an appearance in Cascade Saturday to personally autograph his book on the hijacking. Zimmermann, who was flight engineer on the ill -fated airliner, will sign copies of his book, Hostage In A Hostage World, at Wheeler's Valley Pharmacy from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The book, which sells for $6.95, recounts Zimmermann's personal experiences during his 17 -day ordeal and gives his in- sight on the basic conflicts that have given rise to Arab terrorism in the world. /J,� ; �c cl- '.�"��s�a c1,7 / 2 / /.�/ 5 � rP 1�� a- Z }aqt s 6 Aft "I was fearful but not terrified. I knew God had some purpose In all of it. I just prayed, `Don't let " me do anything stupid. Let me keep as many -people alive as possible." ' «� —B. Christian Zimmermann Flight engineer B. Christian Zimmermann is shown above leaning from the cockpit of hi- jacked TWA Flight 847 in Beirut. At left, he is pictured returning to his home in Cascade. Above left is the cover of Zimmermann's book about his experience as a hostage. World, the ny, last July when book publishers ap- B. Christian Zim- first book on Idahoan proached him, asking him to write his mermann will be the hijack - story of the hijacked TWA flight 847. available to auto- ing to hit the adds insigh t As soon as he returned to his Cas- c ade, Idaho, home, 21 days after the 18 -day hijacking episode had begun, graph his new book, Hostage in a market. "I really didn't think Hostage World, Concordia Publishers sent a man with during an auto- g it would be a on hijackin a word processor to prod Zimmer- mann into writing while the details graph party from 1 to 3 Saturday public book," Zim- were still fresh in his mind. p.m. mermann The result, five months later, is at Christian Sup - said of the By KAREN BOSSICK Zimmermann's book Hostage in a ply, 6880 Fairview work which The Idaho Statesman Hostage Ave, was TWA Flight Engineer B. Christian released Zimmermann had barely stepped on about a free soil in Frankfurt, West Germa- month ago. "I'm surprised at how well it has caught on in the East and % ��C' as P 0" a d �� i�a < Midwest, even outside of Christian circles." The book is more than just an ac- ' count of the events surrounding the hijacking of the Athens- to-Rome flight by Shiite Muslims last June. It also focuses on the religious roots of the turmoil in war -torn Lebanon and contrasts Islamic theology to the Christianity that, Zimmermann writes, was very much evidenced in most of the hijacked passengers' lives. "I figured everyone else was going to approach the event from a blow - by -blow standpoint. I felt I had ob- served what to me was the bottom - line problem and, due to my theologi- cal expertise, I wanted to direct my attention to that perspective," said Zimmermann, an ordained Lutheran minister who moved to Cascade in 1980 to found a mission. "My observation was that, in the world we were held hostage, our cap- tors were also hostages, primarily due to their false religion which has them trapped. These people are living in a pathetic situation, which they don't want but don't know how to get out of. They can't solve their prob- lems until they come to grips with their spiritual bondaae." Zimmermann paints a vivid de- scription of the disorganized scene that transpired after the hijacking: the nervous, gun- waving hijackers clubbing an Army Reserve major with an arm rest torn from a seat; passengers roasting in the midday heat as the plane sat on the Algerian runway; guards firing guns out win- dows to demand Cokes and ciga- rettes, spilling soda and ashes on the plane's consoles and gauges and strewing garbage in the aisles, leav- ing it to attract flies as it rotted. He also mentions almost comic oc- currences that didn't appear in the tense news reports of the hijacking: guards misplacing their guns and en- listing the Americans' aid to find them or hijackers who sang duets over the P.A. system. And picture, if you can, Algerian airport officials demanding a credit card — Shell, specifically — before refueling the Boeing 727, ignoring the hijackers who were waving loaded guns and grenades in the air. The dependence on God that helped the 45-year -old flight engineer endure the crisis, in which one American was killed, was nothing new for Zimmer- mann. His missionary family was held hostage in China when the Japa- nese overran the country during World War II. Though Zimmermann was only an infant at the time, he had heard the story of the family's unwavering trust in God and their prayers for God's protection and eventual deliverance when they were traded for Japanese prisoners of war. "I was fearful but not terrified," said Zimmermann, who lived in Boise in the mid- 1960s. "I knew God had some purpose in all of it. I just prayed, 'Don't let me do anything stupid. Let me keep as many people alive as possible.' " Amazingly, the hostages were able to conduct a "two-week seminar" for their guards in Beirut, educating them on Christianity and America in an attempt to correct the "extremely distorted" information they'd been fed. "They didn't hate American peo- ple. They seemed to feel that the American government was the enemy and that we, as individuals, would identify with them," said Zim- rriermann, who says he continues to pray for the hijackers and guards. For me, the biggest thing was the realization that exciting things can happen when a whole nation gets to- gether in prayer. It was remarkable to see God's intervention in history, like you read about in the Bible." Despite his ordeal, Zimmermann has no fear of flying. He believes even the turbulent airs over the Middle East will soon prove friendlier for travelers. "I think the hijacking problem is taking care of itself," he said. "The solution seems to be its inef- fectiveness. Our hijackers were ineffective in getting what they were demanding (the release of 766 Israeli -held Lebanese pris- oners) and other perpetrators have not been successful in achieving their demands. "Though they're demented, they're intelligent. I think we'll see them move away from the travel industry because it doesn't seem an effective way of meeting demands." In retrospect, Zimmermann says he is thankful the United States government didn't attempt a military rescue. Still, Zimmer- mann said, he would like to see the State Department include some theologians among its advis- ers. "At the moment, there is a tendency by . experts to lump Moslems together without under- standing the significant theologi- cal differences between the vari- ous factions," he said. "You can't understand how they're likely to act or what makes them do what they do if you lump them togeth- er." Cascade mustered a big welcome for Christian Zim- mermann just a few days after he was freed from his ordeal as a hostage of Arab terrorists in Beirut. Above is part of a crowd of several thousand people who gathered at Cascade City Park on July 4 to cheer Zimmermann during a celebration that included Gov. John Evans. At right, Zim- mermann addresses the crowd while his wife, Melvia, looks on. µ 6b�fiAm &' * , '4' 0 • Host-g.- e ordeal area By Bradley Blum The Star -News For 17 days during June, residents of Cascade were on the edge of their seats with the rest of the nation while one of their own was an unwilling player in an in- ternational drama that unfolded a half a world away. Benjamin Christian Zimmer- mann, 45, an airline pilot and the man who founded Cascade's Lutheran mission, was serving as flight engineer aboard Trans World Airlines Flight 847 on June 14 when the jetliner was hi- jacked during a scheduled flight from Athens to Rome. Members of a fundamentalist Shiite Moslem splinter group known as Islamic Jihad, or Islamic Holy War, com- mandeered the TWA flight soon after it left Athens and, in an 8,500 -mile series of flights, ordered the Boeing 727 flown back and forth between Algiers and Beirut, Lebanon, before finally ending up at the Beirut airport. At the time of hijacking, 145 passengers and eight crew members were aboard the plane. During one of the stops in Beirut, Robert Stetham, a 23- year -old U.S. Navy diver, was killed by the terrorists and his body dumped on the airport tar- mac. During stops in Algiers and Beirut, groups of passengers were released by the hijackers until finally only 40 American passengers and crew members re- mained aboard Flight 847. Shortly thereafter, the remain- ing passengers were removed from the plane and taken to various locations in Beirut, leav- ing aboard Zimmermann and his two fellow pilots, Capt. John Testrake and Philip Maresca. Shortly after the incident began, Zimmermann's father, the Rev. Elmer Zimmermann, who had been in ill health, died at a St. Louis hospital after being stricken during a prayer vigil for his son. Zimmermann's wife, Melvia, and their three children, Eric, Steven and Elizabeth left Cascade to attend the funeral and be with family members in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Cascade and Mc- Call frequently were the sites of prayer vigils held by local residents who expressed frustra- tion because of the long wait. But they also said that their religious faith was strengthened, par- ticularly by the strong example set by the Zimmermann family. Local residents drew some comfort from a June 19 interview between reporters and Zimmer- mann, who spoke from out of the cockpit window of the hijacked airliner. The interview was comforting mainly because it came on the heels of a report that one of the freed passengers had said that Zimmermann had been severely beaten by the hijackers. A later televised interview with Zimmermann conducted inside the 727 was just as disquieting for his friends as the first glimpse was comforting. "It was just so difficult to see that man (a Shiite militiaman) with a gun at Christian's head," said Bill Leaf, principal of Cascade High School. The crux of the hijackers' demands was that Isreal release about 700 Arab prisoners taken during the withdraw of Isreali troops from Lebanon. Isreal has had a long- standing (Continued on Page A -2) " " " Z i m m e r m a n n ( C o n t i n u e d f r o m P a g e A - 1 ) P o l i c y o f n o t n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h t e r - b a s e f o r a w e l c o m e h o m e c e r e m o n y w i t h R e a g a n . r o r i s t s , b u t I s r e a l i P r i m e M i n i s t e r O n c e r e u n i t e d , C h r i s t i a n a n d S h i m o n P e r e s t o o k t h e p u b l i c M e l v i a Z i m m e r m a n n t r a v e l e d t o P o s i t i o n t h a t i f a s k e d b y P r e s i - S t . 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S . t o A n d r e w s A i r F o r c e a c r e s o v e r l o o k i n g t h e r e s e r v o i r . 5/d J- / e-CV5 Ju r,� J� �99s Former hostage notes 10 years, busy with retreat BY TOM GROTE The Star -News Ten years after he was at the focus of anxiety for an entire world, Chris- tian Zimmermann of Cascade says his goal is to provide the tools for inner peace - one person at a time. It was 10 years ago on Tuesday, Independence Day, that Zimmermann ended his ordeal as a hostage on TWA Flight 847 and soaked up a tumultu- ous welcome home by a joyous crowd in Cascade. For 17 days, he, two other crew members plus 39 American passen- gers on the flight were held hostage by Moslem fanatics who seized the plane on a flight between Athens and Rome and ordered it to Beirut, Leba- non. One person, U.S. Navy diver Rob- ert Stethem, was killed by the hijackers and others were threatened and beaten, including Zimmermann, who was flight engineer on Flight 847. The crisis ended peacefully when nego- tiators convinced the terrorists to release the hostages, who were driven to Syria and freedom. The event transformed Zimmermann, a soft- spoken Lutheran minister when not flying for TWA. into a worldwide celebrity and an instant hero in his adopted home of Cascade. Concerned residents of the town and members of the Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church, which he helped organize, supported Zimmermann's wife, Melvia, and the couple's three children. They also tied yellow ribbons on utility poles, trees and signs in downtown Cascade to show their support. This Sunday afternoon, a luau pot- luck will be thrown in Zimmermann's hcnor at The Depot, the historic Cas- cade railroad station now located on the west side of the Cascade Airport. The potluck will note Zimmermann's retirement from TWA on May 1 after 27 years as well as the 10th anniversary of the 1985 hostage crisis. It will also mark the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Zimmermann, 55. The restoration of The Depot into an individualized re- treat has been his goal since before he was whisked into the headlines by the hijackers. Now retired, he hopes to spur the project into fruition. Zimmermann said the hijacking left him a changed man, but the expe- role i of 3 hence was invigorating rather than traumatic. "It was a good experience for me personally," he said. "Everything I see is for the better. It caused me to get a little more focused. I learned a little about myself, about what I could do and what I couldn't do." He recalled establishing a relation- ship with some of the less- radical Moslem guards who watched over him during his captivity, and how he would someday like to re -visit Beirut and meet with them. "They were different than the criminally demented individuals," he said. "They were just soldiers, and they were dedicated conscientious people, serious people. I'd like to talk to them. There were some really nice guys." The horrors of the ordeal have not escaped Zimmermann, who was pis- tol- whipped, beaten and almost con- stantly faced the muzzle of a gun. "I discovered one of the things I was really good at was thinking on my feet," he said. He thinks that skill saved the life a teen -age passenger who the hijackers were about to kill at one point because of slow delivery of Photo by Tom Grol Christian Zimmermann, in front of The Depot, says he learned a lot about himself while a hostage. jet fuel to the plane. Rather than kill the boy, Zimmermann suggesting making the youth scream into a radio microphone to make it sound as if he was being tortured. The hijackers agreed, al- though a crew member had to provide the scream in place of the terrorized teen. By then, the fuel had arrived. Zimmermann also hopes the points he made in discussions with his cap- tors as well as during an Algerian television interview helped shorten the ordeal. "I said this makes the people who are trying to promote their cause just as ridiculous and unappealing to the world as the Israelis, whom they were fighting again," he said. "I told them, `These folks are no better than anybody else,' and it was after that things started changing dra- matically and quickly," he said. Afterhis release, Zimmermann was swept up by the fame of the hijacking. He traveled around the country speak- ing to Lutheran church groups and others, and he wrote a book about the ordeal, "Hostage in a Hostage World," which sold 12,000 copies. He was given the opportunity to move into management at TWA, but turned it down because it would have meant living in New York City. After a year's leave suffering a bad back, he returned to flying and con- tinued his world travels for nine more years until this spring, when he de- cided to hang up his wings. Now he can focus on developing The Depot Institute, the non - profit group he helped start soon after the hijacking. The group, which is not affiliated with any church, acquired the former Union Pacific Railroad depot in Cascade, moved it to its cur- rent home and beean the long, ardu- ous work of restoration. Lectures, concerts and cultural events have been held at The Depot over the years, but Zimmermann's. ultimate goal is to complete living quarters in the building for those seek- ing a quiet, reflective retreat. "We want to give people a chance to break out and step off the rapidly rotating world and just say, `I want to take a break and rethink a few things," " he said. Zimmermann chairs The Depot Institute and will serve as discussion leader for those who seek refuge at the site, located along a quiet bend of the North Fork of the Payette River. Q-4 Ics IVew5 JuNc '79l /f9.s Pd CW ety of topics. "This is my little China," Zimmermann said, recalling the coun- try where he was born to missionary parents. "I see this as my mission field." The hijacking has had the pleasant result of elevating the awareness of his work among the people in Cas- cade. "It made me an old -timer in a town that I'm not an old -timer in," he said. Those who know Zimmermann agree. "He's a model of an upright man and a good citizen," said Ward Hower, who was mayor of Cascade during the hijacking. "We need a lot of those people these days" "His demeanor is very gentle, very quiet, very loving," said Bill Wheeler of Cascade, Zimmermann's long -time friend. "His compassion for people comes across. He visits with people and shows concern that everybody has worth and is important." He hopes the kind of one -on -one interaction that served him well ip Beirut will help others sort out the madness in their lives. Meanwhile, The Depot is starting Thursday Night Theater, a weekly public forum in which videos will be shown and discussions held on a vari- scar -news nie r—tu An elated throng of well - wishers greeted Zimmermann on his return to Cascade on July 4, 1985. L cr-& J Zimmermann to join district House seat race for 8th CASCADE — Christian Zimmermann, a retired TWA pilot and presently a Cascade City Council member, said Monday that he intends to run for the Idaho House of Representatives. A Republican, he said he would run against 8th district state Rep. Gayle Wilde, R- McCall, in the coming May primary elec- tion. He said he has nothing against Wilde nor the job she's done representing the central Idaho mountains in the Idaho Legislature for nearly five terms. lot. Instead, he said it's nice for voters to have a choice on the bal- "This will give people two names," he said. His primary reason for running, he said, is that he has the time to do public service, which he has been doing as an appointee to the Cascade City Council since last year. But he said he'd like to expand his public service. Zimmermann said -he has no particular agenda at this point, nor any particular issues that he has chosen to run on. In exploratory conversations he's had with voters around the area, he said he's gotten a lot of support for the idea of his throw- ing his hat into the ring. "It's an opportunity for service," Zimmermann said, " and I guess I'd like to engage it." Christian Zimmermann 1, lIaha S�c7rst -n ate, , /,I. / /�Zl y� Legislator hurt critically in car accident State Rep. Christian Zimmer- man, the former TWA pilot who was a hostage of Mideast terror- ists in the mid- 1980s, was criti- cally injured Wednesday when the car he was driving hit a horse. Officials said Zimmerman, who took office just last week as a newly elected Republican state representative from Cascade, was LifeFlighted from Cascade to St. Alphonsus Regional Med- ical Center in Boise. A hospital spokeswoman said Zimmerman was in intensive care suffering from facial and head injuries. She said he had not undergone surgery yet, but the office of House Speaker Mike Simpson said it had been advised that Zimmerman would undergo fa- cial reconstructive surgery on Thursday. The Valley County Sheriff's office declined to immediately disclose any details of the acci- dent. Zimmermann's condition improves at hospital Freshman legislator B. Christian Zimmermann, R- Cascade, is out of intensive care and listed in stable con- dition at the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center after being critically injured in an accident two weeks ago. No hospital release date has yet been set for Zimmermann, who con- tinues to improve daily after undergo- ing two facial surgeries, a hospital spokesperson said. On Dec. 11 at about 5:30 a.m., Zimmermann, 56, was southbound about 11 miles north of Smiths Ferry when he collided with a loose horse on Idaho 55. He was taken by ambulance to Cascade Medical Center and then transferred by Life Flight helicopter to St. Alphonsus with a broken upper jaw, broken lower jaw, and other fa- cial injuries. Zimmermann is still expected to take his seat in the Idaho Legisl4ture when it convenes in January, but is allowed under law to select a tempo- rary replacement for his District 8, Seat A, position in the Idaho House of Representatives. Last May, Zimmermann defeated incumbent Gayle Wilde, R- McCall, by a narrow margin in the Republican primary for the Idaho House seat. Zimmermann then beat a write -in campaign mounted by Wilde in the November general election.