Dear Senator ________,

Fathers Day is important for us and our children, as it is for all American families. It is the day set aside to honor fathers for their sacrifices and examples. Some have sacrificed more than others. We, the families of the 1979 Iran Hostages, write today especially to remember those 52 men and women held in captivity for 444 days and released to a life that would never meet its promise or aspirations - for the 52 or their families. It should come as no surprise that many never truly came home. They were shells of the people that left for Iran to represent our nation. There have been suicides, early deaths, and severe physical and mental health issues. The powerful American writer Thomas Wolfe achingly captured what we witnessed day after day: Lost. Lost. And by the wind grieved ghosts please come back again. They were brutalized, beaten, toyed with, and left to sleep in their own feces. They were marched out to be shot against a wall only to learn after they cried out, soiled themselves, and broke apart that it was only a mock execution. How do you live in full fear for 444 days and ever be the same? And what about those of us - spouses and children - left to witness a daily barrage of spitting hate and evil directed at our loved ones and aired around the clock? We were hostages too. We had to try to do something but could, of course, do nothing to ease the pain and horrific suffering. We knew only consuming anxiety and anguish. Children were deprived of growing up normally, estranged and cold or emotionally drained away in an effort to cope and survive. The scars to this day remain and impact. We'll bet you do not know about the attempted suicides, the ones who dropped out of school or life, the ones that could not forgive or forget? And what about spouses who suffered total breakdowns, who could never resume life with a loved husband, who today continue a depression that is unabated from those days 34 years ago, who suffer recurring panic attacks and physical illnesses for which there is no cure and no easing? And now for our personal Fathers Day plea: help us find some measure of closure. After all this time of hurt and bitterness - please make a statement in support of our Foreign Service officers and our families, and in condemnation of those terrorists whose heinous acts decades ago continue to afflict our loved ones to this day. Hold responsible those that criminally do business with Iran - who place profit above principle and country - since you cannot hold Iran itself liable. Grant us reparations so that, in what is for many of us our old age, sickness and infirmity, we can know the peace that will come from the support of our country a measure of justice from those who took our best lives away. Please support Senate Bill 559, The Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2013.

Sincerely, The Families of the Iran Hostages:

Alabama Matthew Arthur German - Huntsville, AL

Arizona Anita M. Schaefer - Peoria, AZ

Arkansas Paul John Needham - Cabot, AR

California Luzette Kathleen Graves - San Luis Obispo, CA Burni Lynn Hohman-Fain - Sacramento, CA Cathy Renee Hohman - Citrus Heights, CA Kari Dawn Jones - Los Angeles, CA Marie Kalp - Sherman Oaks, CA Moorhead C. "Mark" Kennedy, III - Carpinteria, CA Duncan R. Kennedy - San Francisco, CA Elizabeth "Betsy" F. Morefield - Redondo Beach, CA Daniel J. Morefield - Laguna Miguel, CA Debbie Braunz Plotkin - Woodland Hills, CA

Connecticut Philip L Kennedy - Madison, CT

District of Columbia Andrew M. Kennedy - Washington, DC

Florida Brian Alan Belk - Mt. Doar, FL Nancy L. Richards - Cocoa Beach, FL Cheryl N. Alsen - Citra, FL

Georgia Gregory Blake Scott - Atlanta, GA Christopher Jon Tomseth - Stockbridge, GA

Kentucky Anne Elizabeth Hohman - Elizabethtown, KY Yuri Daniel Hohman - Elizabethtown, KY Kai Andreas Hohman - Louisville, KY David A. Moore - Glasgow, KY

Massachusetts Andrew Howard Kalp - Brockton, MA

Maryland Margarite German - Rockville, MD Deborah Corinne German Firestone - Gaithersburg, MD Christopher Neal German - Rockville, MD Bonnie Trilby Schnoor Graves - Silver Spring, MD Rose Marie Holland Brinkmann - Chaptico, MD Candice Beyai - Burtonsville, MD Penelope "Penne" B. Laingen - Bethesda, MD

Minnesota Commander Charles Winslow, USN - Woodbury, MN

Missouri William Bruce Laingen - OFallon, MO

North Carolina Marjorie Moore - Pittsboro, NC Dorothea B. Morefield - Cary, NC Steven Q. Morefield - Durham, NC Susanne A. Roeder - Pinehurst, NC Dawn Marie Roeder Harris - Whispering Pines, NC James Dale Roeder - Pinehurst, NC

Nebraska Neal Nathaniel Needham - Omaha, NE

New Jersey Robert Allan Moore - Madison, NJ Diane Moore Wilkie - Lincroft, NJ New Mexico Trudy McKeel - Portales, NM William D. Morefield - Albuquerque, NM

Nevada Elisa Wood - Sparks, NV Lindsey Maria Moeller - Sparks, NV Amy Celeste Jolly Moeller - Sparks, NV

New York Madana E. Limbert - New York, NY Charles A. Moore - Barton, NY Barbara B. Rosen - New York, NY Ariana B. Rosen - New York, NY Alexander B. Rosen - Washingtonville, NY Aranya Lynn Tomseth - New York, NY

Ohio Mary Holland - Fairfield, OH Cathleen M. Holland - Batavia, OH Barbara L Holland - Fairfield, OH

Pennsylvania Jerome Holland - Conshohocken, PA

South Carolina Lisabeth "Beth" Scott Mann - Spartanburg, SC

Tennessee Arnold Glenn Graves - Oakridge, TN

Texas Mattie C. Jones - San Antonio, TX Carla Ann Jones - San Antonio, TX

Virginia Gisela H. Ahern - McLean, VA Christine Ahern Oswald - Fairfax, VA Christopher S. Belk - Virginia Beach, VA Alan David Graves - Middleburg, VA Earl John Graves - Dulles, VA Martin Andrew Graves - Bluemont, VA Cherlynn Anita Conetsco - Falls Church, VA John Holland - Culpeper, VA James Palmer Laingen, USN - Norfolk, VA Patsy E. Palmer - Vienna, VA

Dana L. Lee - Fairfax, VA Parvaneh Limbert - Arlington, VA Frances G. Sharer - Chesapeake, VA Jennifer Leigh Sharer Knight - Chesapeake, VA Paul D. Cronin - Rectortown, VA Wallapa Charoenrath Tomseth - Vienna, VA Jeffery A. Sharer Virginia Beach, VA

Vermont Allyssa Keough Stevens - Burlington, VT Kathryn "Kate" Keough - Burlington, VT Shervin Limbert Stockbridge, VT

Washington David Thomas Schaefer - Gig Harbor, WA

Wisconsin James Holland - Belleville, WI Lisa Gayle Kalp - Neillsville, WI