Penelope Laingen, 89, widow of Iranian hostage and Minnesotan L. Bruce Laingen, dies; her yellow ribbon rallied Americans Her husband, L. Bruce Laingen, was held 444 days as a hostage in Iran.
By Clay Risen New York Times April 24, 2021 3:45pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Penne Laingen didn t know she would start a national movement when she tied a yellow ribbon around the white oak in her front yard in Bethesda, Md. It was November 1979, and her husband, L. Bruce Laingen, was the highest-ranking official among the 52 people held hostage in Iran after student militants overran the U.S. Embassy.
The idea, she told the Washington Post, came to her suddenly, inspired by Tony Orlando & Dawn s 1973 hi
Washington
District-of-columbia
United-states
Minnesota
Georgia
Iran
White-house
Tehran
National-christmas-tree
University-of-minnesota
Library-of-congress
Americans
Penelope Laingen, who united nation with yellow ribbons during Iran hostage crisis, dies at 89
By Emily Langer The Washington Post,Updated April 17, 2021, 2 hours ago
Email to a Friend
Penelope Laingen met with first lady Rosalynn Carter at the White House in 1980. The yellow ribbon, which Laingen displayed outside her Bethesda, Md., home, became a symbol of devotion to the hostages during the Iran hostage crisis.White House photo/White House photo via Laingen fa
As the wife of a US diplomat, Penelope Laingen had trekked to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Malta, loyally serving alongside her husband in the long tradition of Foreign Service families.
Iran
Malta
Canada
Miami
Florida
United-states
New-york
Washington
White-house
District-of-columbia
Chevy-chase
Hollywood
By EMILY LANGER | The Washington Post | Published: April 16, 2021 As the wife of a U.S. diplomat, Penelope Laingen had trekked to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malta, loyally serving alongside her husband in the long tradition of Foreign Service families. From boiling vats of water to dropping calling cards, she once remarked, from packing and unpacking our households to attending endless receptions, from parasites and culture shock to performing charitable acts, the duties thrust upon Laingen had accustomed her to a life of hardship but also, she said, one of purpose and meaning. Her most public ordeal began on Nov. 4, 1979, when Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where her husband, L. Bruce Laingen, was chargé d affaires. Laingen one of three hostages detained, separately from their embassy colleagues, at the Iranian Foreign Ministry was the highest-ranking official among the 52 Americans held in captivity for 444 days.
Iran
Malta
Canada
Library-of-congress
District-of-columbia
United-states
Miami
Florida
New-york
Afghanistan
Washington
White-house