Groups mark 25th anniversary of Iran mission

A desperate mission to rescue 53 American hostages from Iran ended in failure and the deaths of eight servicemen, but it is being remembered 25 years later as a turning point for U.S. special forces that eventually led to successes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and elsewhere.

Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force veterans of Operation Eagle Claw, families of those who lost their lives and a support group are gathering in Florida this weekend for an anniversary remembrance.

Mere failure turned into fiery disaster when a helicopter collided with a transport plane at Desert One, a desolate rendezvous spot in Iran, after mechanical and weather problems had already aborted the mission.

What happened on April 25, 1980, shocked the Pentagon and Congress into building up special forces for clandestine missions and small-scale warfare against terrorists and guerillas.

"The U.S. got better prepared to deal with terrorism quicker because of Desert One," retired Air Force Col. Roland Guidry said in recent interview.

He was a squadron commander at Desert One and later served as chief of air operations for the U.S. Special Operations Command, now headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Fla.

Organizational, logistical and equipment flaws coupled with interservice rivalry contributed to Eagle Claw's failure, but the audacious rescue plan and training that went into it still are paying dividends.

"There's a lot of missions that are occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan we don't know anything about, but they're using some of the same tactics and procedures we developed," Guidry said.

Guidry, 65, now a real estate broker at Destin, Fla., will be the principle speaker at an Eagle Claw symposium Monday, the mission's anniversary date, at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Hurlburt is headquarters for the Air Force Special Operations Command, and it was the home base of five airmen who died at Desert One. Three Marines also were killed.

On Sunday night, the Tampa-based Special Operations Warrior Foundation will hold a 25th anniversary dinner and remembrance in Fort Walton Beach. The foundation provides college scholarships for children of special operators killed or disabled in the line of duty.

Jody Powell, then-President Jimmy Carter's press secretary, will be master of ceremonies. Carter's inability to free the hostages was an issue in his 1980 re-election defeat.