Posted on 11/20/2005 3:03:28 PM PST by freedom44
I no longer remember the exact date when my father announced in mid-summer 1973 that he had his first post-USAF job. It would not involve a long-term residency in the States, but a relocation as a newly hired employee of the Lockheed company, doing Air Force logistics for a foreign country. Destination: Iran.
It seems impossible to believe today, but I then knew nothing about the place or its location on the globe--until my father explained its role in the ancient world as the center of the Persian Empire: Daniel, Queen Esther, Cyrus the Great, Darius, and Artaxerxes were more than familiar from my days of reading the Old Testament in Sunday Schools around the world.
"They have a monarchy," my father intoned, "just like in Biblical times. Their King is called the Shah. He's our ally in impeding Soviet influence in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf."
My response was simply to clarify my own status in this latest mission. "So when I'm not in Chicago going to school, I'm going to spend the summers with Steve down in Texas [brother at the University of Texas law school at the time]?"
My father's response was typically clear and to the point. "Negative. Lockheed will pay your way to Iran each summer and Christmas that your mother and I are over there. You already have the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam under your belt. One month in Tehran and some background reading and you'll adjust fine. You'll also have some experiences that will serve you in good stead for the rest of your life."
My first arrival in Tehran was in May of 1974, courtesy of Dutch KLM connections from Chicago to Amsterdam to Mehrabad Airport. The memories of that evening remain indelibly imprinted in my mind. The night lights of Tehran; the Elburz Mountains; the utter chaos in passport control and customs; and a virtual sea of humanity in the terminal beyond customs, anxiously awaiting family members and friends arriving from abroad. I can still see my father and mother amidst this mild mob scene, beckoning me to their location beyond the glass that separated international arrivals from greeting parties. My sense of relief at spotting them was palpable.
Another mental snapshot frozen in time remains etched in my heart and mind until the day I depart this earth: the memory of the huge portraits of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and the Shahbanou, Empress Farah, which were prominently displayed for new arrivals and returnees to the Land of Persia as the respective groupings awaited processing through customs. To my knowledge, it was the first time I had encountered them in photographic encapsulement. The Shah was a strikingly handsome man whose countenance of strength was accentuated by the military uniform and aura of regalia underscored by the medals on his chest. The Shahbanou was the most striking woman I had ever seen, combining sheer beauty with the conveyance of intelligence and sensitivity. But what I remember the most was her eyes, which seemed to suggest a sadness and acquaintance with tragedy and pain amidst the vicissitudes of life. I mentally noted that night that her picture suggested the combination of qualities and cohesiveness of character I'd expect of a Persian Queen, using the Biblical Esther as a baseline.
Shah and Shahbanou in Kennedy's Camelot
Leaving Mehrabad Airport that night began a kaleidoscope of experiences and memories that I still reflect upon a generation later. Places like Lar Valley, the Church of Saint Thaddeus in Iranian Azerbaijan, Hamedan (Biblical Ecbatana), Susa (Daniel's tomb), Persepolis, the resting place of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae, Shiraz, and Isfahan continue to resonate in my night thoughts. In Tehran itself, the palaces at Golestan, Niavaran, and Saadabad revisit me regularly, along with Shahinshahi Park, the Crown Jewels at Bank Markazi, Rudaki Hall, the Hungarian Paprika Restaurant and what was the American Embassy at Takhte Jamshid and Roosevelt Avenue in those salad days. It seems like yesterday, just as Moses tells us in Psalm 90 that a "thousand years are as a watch in the night." My ever-aging body, however, manages to tell me how long ago all of this is starting to be. In that time, I was running 10 miles a day in the morning and jumping rope in mile high altitudes, while hitting cleanup and playing center field for an Air Force fast-pitch softball team that bent service rules to let a USAF retiree's kid play. Now, I go to my Philadelphia apartment complex's gym--to walk on the treadmill and read the newspaper in the sauna room.
I turned 21 in Tehran during the American bicentennial year of 1976. On that occasion, my father presented me with a Pahlavi ring. It is one of several remaining physical evidences of my youth in the land of Persia. The other is a diary I kept in that fateful summer by God's grace, which can be accessed as A Summer of a Thousand Nights.
Any country that has "huge" portraits of it's leaders displayed everywhere makes me nervous.
The Shah was no bargain. Yes, Iran was a great trading partner in those days but his tyranny and iron fist rule contributed in the even more ruthless Ayatollah Khomeini's easy climb to power. A true democracy in the Iran of the 1970's would have saved us an awful lot of grief.
Thank you!!
Shahs regime killed the same people we are fighting against right now - Islamic Fundamentalists. When the Shah would jail and kill the fundamentalists it was oppression and evil but when we do it it's the war against terrorism. Not saying Shah was perfect by any means but the hypocrisy is amusing.
The secular and popular government of Mossadegh wanted to take over the oil controlled by the British. So in 1953 he was replaced by the shah. Shah's rule caused Persians to seek independence through the mosque. What goes around, comes around.
The British fooled us into believing that Mossadeqh was a communist when their intentions were oil the entire time. We had no idea otherwise I don't think we would have helped the British with the overthrow of Mossadeqh.
Of course America's lack of spine in supporting a friend in Iran sure didn't help the Shah. If memory serves me correctly that is another thing we have to thank the worst President in American history for, one Jimma Cahrter...
bump
we dont even have "a true democracy" in this country. Why would we want or expect one in Iran?
Well, in fact our nation is a Republic and we choose our representatives by vote. Iran chose their government by vote prior to the return of the Shah.
Perhaps someday the people of Iran will again vote for their government and I'd enjoy seeing that. Wouldn't you?
yeah, i'm just chippy.....the eagles tend 2 do that lately
Your Iran ping!
The Shah is fine by me today. Back in the old days I stupidly supported Jimmy Carter undermining him. I thought the Ayatollah Khoumeini was a good guy who would govern Iran with some "progressives"
Stupid me. Stupid Jimmy Carter
From the Iranian history that I’ve come to understand, you’re not correct. I’m wondering why you think this way. Do you have a list of names and organizational affiliations of Iranians executed by the Late Shah of Iran that leads you to believe this? I’m not saying this to disparage you in any way, only to get the facts straight. If you’d like to castigate American Foreign policy toward Iran in the 70’s I think we should all have a clear picture of what occurred back then. Without a doubt the Shah ordered the execution of a number of communists, Marxists and Mujahedin, none of whom can be considered “Islamic fundamentalists”. This on its own proves your assertion to be only part of a larger story if not entirely false.
Of course this depends on your definition of “Islamic Fundamentalist”. Islamo-fascist implies Valeyat e-Faqhee of rule by an Islamic [Shia] supreme leader. Typically, the adjudication of Sharia laws that the Supreme Leader subscribes to is considered “Islamic Fundamentalism”. If on the other hand you supplant the religion, IE, “[Christian | Islamic] Fundamentalist” then you are not following the standard GWOT jargon. "Christian Fundamentalists" look to the origins of Christianity and attempt to follow the path of Jesus Christ [in most cases this behavior has had a positive impact on society] while "Islamic Fundamentalists" of Khomeini's ilk have created an entirely different version of Islam to justify the government Islamic Republic of Iran. I can see where you might become confused... Many are.
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