Five people who fought for and upheld the liberties on which the United States was founded received Freedom Awards Friday night at America's Freedom Festival at Provo's awards gala.
Mayor Joe Jenkins and Carl Bacon, Freedom Festival president, presented honors to Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek; Maj. Bruce Holley of the Utah National Guard; former U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait W. Nathaniel Howell; and Betty Mahmoody, author of "Not Without My Daughter." Mahmoody's 11-year-old daughter, Mah-tob, also was recognized.Kollek said Americans are fortunate to have freedom. "How much easier do you have it than we," he said.
Israel was created for the Jews in 1948 by the United Nations and was immediately recognized as a nation by President Harry S. Truman. "But since then we've had to fight for our freedom," Kollek said. He hopes the Jewish state will some day be able to experience the "full taste of freedom without having to fight for it all the time."
An Orem resident, Holley served as the administrator for the 144th Evacuation Hospital Unit in Saudi Arabi during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
Holley thanked those who supported the troops during the war. "It gave us the boost we needed to do the job," he said. "The real heroes of this war were the ones we left behind. The spouses that had to be both mom and dad," Holley said.
Howell was among the first Americans to look down the barrel of an Iraqi rifle during the invasion of Kuwait last August. Some 180 Americans took refuge in the American Embassy and looked to Howell for leadership.
The former ambassador dedicated his award to those in the foreign service and their families. He called them America's "first line of defense."
"They believe in this country. They're proud to represent it. They're proud to run the risks associated with it in today's world," Howell said.
Betty Mahmoody and her daugh-ter became prisoners of Mahmoody's Iranian husband after he embraced the Iranian revolution during what was supposed to be a two-week visit to Tehran in 1984. Mahmoody spent nearly two years trying to escape the country in which all rights were stripped away.
Mahmoody's husband, Moody, offered to let his wife go if she left the couple's daughter behind. Mahmoody refused.
Mother and daughter often hid in a bathroom to utter Christian prayers. "This horrible, smelly chamber became our refuge," Mahmoody said.
Mahmoody said her daughter never broke down despite being separated from her mother for weeks of interrogation by Moody's family.
"She never said if we go home, but when we go home," Mahmoody said. "I didn't have Gen. (Norman) Schwarzkopf at my side, but I did have Mahtob."
The two eventaully made a risky escape to Turkey with the help of groups opposed to the Ayatollah.
"We only made it home through God's grace," Mahmoody said.