'Great bravery and resolve.' Reaction to the death of Terry Anderson, AP reporter held hostage

A courageous correspondent who reported from the world’s trouble spots

A courageous correspondent who reported from the world's trouble spots. A supporter of humanitarian causes. A good friend.

Those were among the reactions to the death of Terry Anderson, the former chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press. Anderson was one of America’s longest-held hostages after he was abducted from Lebanon in 1985 and held for almost seven years. Anderson, 76, died Sunday in Greenwood Lake, New York, of complications from recent heart surgery.

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“Terry was deeply committed to on-the-ground eyewitness reporting and demonstrated great bravery and resolve, both in his journalism and during his years held hostage. We are so appreciative of the sacrifices he and his family made as the result of his work.” - Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of the AP.

“He never liked to be called a hero, but that’s what everyone persisted in calling him." - Sulome Anderson, daughter. “Though my father’s life was marked by extreme suffering during his time as a hostage in captivity, he found a quiet, comfortable peace in recent years. I know he would choose to be remembered not by his very worst experience, but through his humanitarian work with the Vietnam Children’s Fund, the Committee to Protect Journalists, homeless veterans and many other incredible causes.”

“Our relationship was much broader and deeper, and more important and meaningful, than just that one incident,” Don Mell, former AP photographer who was with Anderson when gun-toting kidnappers dragged him from his car in Lebanon.