"I knew this was a political thing," he said. "Ultimately, I think I thought that we were too valuable to be disposed of completely. So I kept the faith in that respect. (But) I had my doubts at a couple points."

Paul Needham said he remembers reciting the 23rd Psalm as he was lined up for a firing squad. He said he reflects on his captivity every day.

"It definitely changed me," said Needham, 53, of Oakton, Va., a professor at the National Defense University. "I took a look at getting my priorities in life in order — God and family and country, rather than work, work and work."

While nearly all the hostages said they feared for their lives at some point, many said their memories center on the tedium. Most hostages were largely isolated, and many said they were allowed outside for exercise less than once a month.

During a six-week stint in solitary confinement, Gary Earl Lee said he "made friends" with ants and a salamander that inhabited his room. He would tease the ants with a pistachio nut, letting them almost reach it before nudging it farther away.

"At least they were something better than the guards," said Lee, a retiree living in south Texas.

L. Bruce Laingen, of Bethesda, the embassy's charge d'affaires, was the highest ranking American taken hostage. He said it doesn't make sense that 25 years later the United States has little dialogue with Iran, considering the large American stake in the Middle East.

He mainly faulted Iranian leaders for pursuing hostile policies such as developing nuclear technology and continuing to threaten Israel. He has lingering bitterness for the men and women who took him hostage.

But he doesn't blame the Iranian people, who he said were welcoming.

"We need to understand Iran, and Iran needs to seek to understand us," he said.

Scott said he's still frustrated that the U.S. government has never held Iran accountable for taking the hostages.

"I agree with the war on terrorism, but the war on terror by the current administration has been a very selective war. So far we've gone after the really easy targets," said Scott, who opposed going into Iraq but says America must now remain committed to finishing the job there.

Kirtley, on the other hand, believes America is on the right track with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It's the right approach," he said. "That culture responds more to strength than to a negotiated response."

As for the anniversary, many said they prefer to remember another day.

"We celebrate Jan. 20, the anniversary of our release," Laingen said. "That's a good day. Nov. 4 is the day the roof fell in."