An American hostage during the Iranian crisis remembers Jimmy Carter

Of the many mourning former President Jimmy Carter, not everyone can say he saved their lives.

Rocky Sickman was a 22-year-old US Marine stationed at the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries on November 4, 1979.

It defined his life, as well as much of Carter's presidency.

The 67-year-old said: “For the first 30 days, I was sitting in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking that the Vietnam War had just ended, and no one cared about thousands of veterans returning home.” “Who will take care of Iran's hostages?”

He said that at the time he was not sure how much President Carter cared. This sentiment was echoed by much of the American public. Many blamed Carter for failing to bring the hostages home for over a year.

Political historians say one reason Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide — and served only one term as president — was because of his handling of the hostage crisis.

Minutes after Reagan was sworn in, the hostages were released, although the deal had been in the works during Carter's presidency.

Mr Sickman said Carter was forever to be admired for tirelessly trying to bring them home.

“He was a good man who wanted diplomacy. I only later found out how deeply involved he was. He knew my parents. He took care of them, and he would meet them in the capital.”

When Mr. Sickman was finally able to meet Carter in person, he was not dressed for the occasion.

He laughs: “We met him in our pajamas! How do you meet your commander-in-chief dressed like that!”

Rocky was transferred with the other hostages to Wiesbaden, Germany, after a year of being held hostage. The day after they arrived there, Carter received them in person.

“It was a very exciting day because he was in the Marines and he said meeting us was the happiest day of his life.”

The meeting was captured in a photo Carter sent Sickman 10 months after he was voted out of the White House. It was signed: “To my friend Rocky Sickman.”

But it was not the last time Mr. Sickman saw him. Just 10 years ago, he met Carter at a baseball game in Georgia. He had an entrance pass the former president's memorandum.

“He read it, and all of a sudden he got up, then he stood up and then he turned around. I stood up and we waved to each other.”

Like Carter, Sickman continued to focus on philanthropy. He said he was inspired by the former president to create Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of fallen or disabled U.S. military personnel and first responders.

“President Carter was a good Christian man, married to his wonderful wife, and continued his life of service. I don't know if I will ever be as good as him, but I hope I can do the same thing.”

The charity was created to honor the eight US service members killed while trying to rescue hostages. In 1980, the mission, dubbed “Eagle's Claw,” failed miserably after three helicopters broke down. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Carter politically. Although he won the Democratic nomination, he lost the election at the hands of Ronald Reagan that year.

But while the Iran hostage crisis will mark a grim mark on Carter's political legacy, Sickman said he owes his life to Jimmy Carter.

“Morning, noon and night, for 444 days, I have never prayed so hard in my life, hoping that God would be on our side,” he said.

“But President Carter also kept us alive. He kept us in front of the world, and made sure people were praying for us (too).”