Peggy Say dashed forward and gave her brother a huge hug after he stepped down from the helicopter at the U.S. Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden.; Anderson appeared minutes later on a hospital balcony with Joseph Cicippio and Alann Steen, the other two American hostages freed this week.; After a daylong delay that U.N. officials attributed to snow-blocked roads, Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, had appeared Wednesday before his colleagues at a press conference in Damascus, Syria, and said, "You can't imagine how glad I am to see you."; The 44-year-old journalist, who was abducted March 16, 1985, by the Islamic Jihad faction of Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite Muslims, looked to be in good health and said he was sustained in his long ordeal by his companions in captivity, his religious faith and his "stubbornness."; "You wake up every day. You summon up energy from somewhere. I don't know how," Anderson said as he continuously searched the packed room in the Syrian Foreign Ministry for Beirut-based friends and colleagues, waving and giving them the thumbs-up sign.; At the news conference in Syria, Anderson said his captors came to his cell Tuesday afternoon with new clothes -- the first new apparel he had worn in almost seven years -- and a pair of new shoes that were pinching his feet.; When asked what his last words were to his captors, Anderson said simply, "Goodbye," and laughed.; After the news conference, he met with Madeleine Bassil, whom he was planning to marry when he was kidnapped, and his 6-year-old daughter, Sulome, whom he had never seen before Wednesday. In his long captivity, Anderson had treasured a photo of Sulome that his kidnappers allowed him to receive.; Anderson was the ninth Western hostage to be freed since August. His release came after months of negotiations led by a special U.N. envoy, Giandomenico Picco, who dealt with Iranians, Israelis and the Lebanese kidnappers.; In Washington, President Bush, who called Anderson in Damascus "to express the love and admiration that all Americans have for Terry," said Wednesday he joined Anderson's family and friends "in their happiness for his return to freedom."; The ordeal isn't over; But he said: "While the American hostages have now been released, we cannot say the ordeal is over. We call for the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those held outside the legal system in the region, including the two German hostages."; Muslim sources in Beirut and Iranian officials have said Thomas Kemptner, 30, and Heinrich Streubig, 50, who were kidnapped May 16, 1989, are expected to be released soon.; Bush said the United States still wanted a "full accounting" of all hostages who reportedly have died or been killed in captivity.; Bush called for the immediate return of the remains of Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins and former CIA station chief William Buckley, both of whom were killed by hostage-takers in Lebanon. Higgins headed a U.N. observer force and Buckley was stationed in Beirut.; White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater criticized Iran, with whom most of the hostage-taking groups had allied themselves, as "still a terrorist state," and insisted that the United States had made no deals to gain the release of the U.S. hostages.; In a great mood; Anderson appeared to be in an ebullient mood as he joked with his questioners. Asked how he felt about being labeled the longest-held Western hostage, he replied, "It's an honor I'd have gladly given up long ago."; Anderson wore dark slacks, a white shirt and a dark sweater. He also wore a pair of glasses precariously perched on his nose with part of the frame missing.; He said his spirits were kept up by listening to British Broadcasting Corp. newscasts on a radio provided by his kidnappers in the later period of his captivity, and that he was particularly grateful for messages from his family that reached him through Lebanese reporters.; Before he was released, Anderson read a videotaped message from Islamic Jihad. The tape preceded him to Damascus, where it was handed to an AP reporter.; "Although we are closing the file of the captives," the statement declared, "this doesn't mean the confrontation with the Americans and Israelis is halted. The captivity of some persons is only one of the styles to confront. . . . The war is going on."; Anderson said he made clear that it was the kidnappers' statement, not his, "but I thought it was worthwhile to listen to what they had to say."; The good news for the hostage in the statement was brief but meaningful: "We're going to free our last captive, Terry Anderson, thus folding this page in the hostage file before glorious Christmas."; What he missed; Some of the events Terry Anderson missed during his time in captivity:; (box)1985: Cruise ship Achille Lauro seized by Palestinians.; (box)1986: Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds into flight.; (box)1987: 37 sailors on USS Stark killed by Iraqi missile in Persian Gulf.; (box)1988: 270 killed when bomb destroys Pan Am jetliner over Scotland.; (box)1989: Powerful earthquake strikes Bay Area.; (box)1990: Reunification of Germany completed.; (box)1991: U.S. launches attacks in Iraq and Kuwait.
A nearly seven-year-long journey through Beirut's heart of darkness ended Wednesday for Terry Anderson, the longest-held of the Western hostages in Lebanon, bringing almost to a close a chapter of Middle East history that brought successive U.S. administrations to frustrated impotence before a shadowy group of radical Muslims. Anderson arrived in Germany early today and was reunited with the sister who campaigned tirelessly for his release. At a press conference in Damascus, Syria, held Wednesday, the 44-year-old journalist said his companions sustained him in his long ordeal in captivity, his religious faith and his "stubbornness."