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Many American Peace Corps Volunteers have written about their experiences in Iran as they learned about the people and culture with whom they lived and worked. The Peace Corps Iran Association has been gathering these personal stories as part of its mission to preserve our legacy.

One set of stories emerged from PCIA sponsored conferences in Portland, OR (2011), Austin ,Texas (2015), and San Diego, CA (2019) and sessions at National Peace Corps Association Gatherings (2013). Organized by John Krauskopf, a popular activity at these sessions is the reading of stories written by PCIA members. Many of these stories appear on the left side column.

Additional stories have been submitted directly to the PCIA website. Together, they represent a picture of Iran between 1962 to 1976 as seen through the eyes of Peace Corps Volunteers.

The August 31, 1968, Khorasan Earthquake

The Khorasan earthquake of August 31-September 1, 1968, had an epicenter in Dasht-e-Biaz, a small village south of Gonabad, Khorasan Province. The death toll from the quake, which occurred in the mid-afternoon, approximated 15,000, with most of the casualties in Kakhk, 20 km south of Gonabad (population then approximately 5000).

Five Peace Corps Volunteers assisted with the relief efforts. They have agreed to write their stories and we are proud to publish them here.

Cris Klein tells how she bused and hitch-hiked east to Mashhad and south past Gonabad to Khezri, a village totally destroyed by the earthquake and a focal point for medical and relief efforts. That began her year of living in a tent helping the survivors. Read her story by clicking here.

John Newton was a Peace Corps Field Officer which involved long hours of driving to visit volunteers at their service sites. He was in Birjand in eastern Iran visiting Norman and Sonia Loewenthal who were Teaching English as a Second Language and was headed to Gonabad, 125 miles to the north where Howie Nelson was stationed. On August 31, 1968 he was driving his Peace Corps Jeep Wagoneer over the bumpy dirt road when he noticed a cloud of dust drifting across the sky. South of Gonabad, he drove into Khezri, or “what used to be Khezri.” All the mud houses were rubble from a terrible earthquake. Newton tells his story in the introduction to his book, An American in Revolutionary Iran, (available on Amazon). You can read John’s story by clicking here.

Tom Nelson arrived at his site of Gonabad about four days after the earthquake struck. Gonabad itself was barely affected; some cracks in buildings, but no casualties. The area about 20 km south of Gonabad, however, was devastated, but in a patchwork of collapsed buildings; some villages were completely leveled, while others were not affected substantially. Most of the casualties were in Kakhk because it was near the mountains and thus cooler in the summer. Folks from Gonabad and surroundings would go there to cool off. You can read Tom’s story by clicking here.

John Holehan’s story begins “A lot of people were expecting the BBC when we first arrived in Gonabad. At least one grave-looking local official appeared visibly disappointed when I informed him that I was with the Khorasan Engineering Office, not the BBC.” As a member of that office, John and his colleagues delivered relief supplies and were tasked with rebuilding Khahk, one of the worst hit villages. His story includes a visit to the village by the Shah. You can read John’s story by clicking here.

Bob Greenberg arrived in the village of Dasht-e Bayaz, a few kilometers above Khezri which was on the main highway to Gonabad. Dasht-e Bayaz had been a prosperous village known for abundant fruit and saffron. Because the quake had struck during the early afternoon, many people had been indoors as it hit and were buried under the rubble. Half the population was killed and now the remainder were living in tents and being fed by relief organizations. There were still aftershocks and one could hear terrorized villagers wailing from fear and sadness as the earth rumbled. You can read Bob’s story by clicking here.

Jim Durfey, an architect, helped design a new masjed for Khahk. That story was published in a 1970 Peace Corps newsletter. We have scanned that article and you can read it by clicking here.

Tagi Sagafi-nejad sent his remembrances of the earthquake. ” Reading the accounts of the former PCVs who had witnessed first-hand the August 1968 tragedy in Khorasan brought tears to my eyes. You see, my mother, uncle, his 2 children and over 20 relatives were killed in that quake, and the entire village of Bainabaj – my birth place – was flattened. ” You can read the rest of the article by clicking here .

Winifred J. Ellenchild Pinch was a nurse at the Presbyterian hospital in Mashhad at that time. She went with a medical team to provide help. You can read her story by clicking here.

KAKHK PHOTOS taken by Peace Corps Volunteers Roger Cavanna and Jim Durfey following the earthquake. Click here.

SEARCHING FOR MR. PAUL

One of the most rewarding activities for PCIA is reuniting people who knew each other years ago in Iran. We regularly receive requests for help in finding RPCVs or PC staff members, and we’re often successful.

In August, 2011, as our first-ever reunion began in Portland, OR, Idaho Public Television journalist Marcia Franklin made her way to the “Dezful” table. Having produced a documentary about her 2003 trip to Iran to report on the environmental movement there, Marcia had been invited to Portland to show the film and share her insights.

But she had a secondary mission – to help her Boise friend Azam Houle locate the Peace Corps volunteer who had served in the ancient city of Dezful in the 1960’s when she and her sister Ezzat and their siblings were growing up. The volunteer’s name was Paul Levering, but in Dezful, he was known as “Mr. Paul.”

To read Ezzat’s story about finding “Mr. Paul,” click HERE.

Jackie Spurlock provides a behind-the-scenes look into how the search transpired. Then Paul Levering tells about what happened after he was “found.” Read these two articles by clicking HERE .

Iranian Culture Night Featuring PCIA Author Rea Keech

More than 50 residents attended the Crofton Community Library’s “Iranian Cultural Immersion Night Through Literature, Poetry and Music” on Aug. 7.

Attendees heard Author Rea Keech read passages of his fictional novel “A Hundred Veils” inspired by his years in the Peace Corps teaching English at the University of Tehran from 1967 to 1969.

Before each chapter was read, Mostafa Rahbar, Keech’s Iranian roommate in the 60’s, read Farsi poetry. The men have remained friends for over 50 years and Rahbar now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Read the full report on this event by clicking HERE.

Speaking with Emily Wells (a.k.a. Mrs. Mac)

As webmaster for www.peacecorpsiran.org, it is not unusual for me to receive an email sent to our website. Usually, it involves someone searching for a Peace Corps Volunteer whom they knew back in the day. But this email was different.

I’m from IRAN. I had a great chance to become familiar with a kind American woman who had a great experience living in Iran with her ex-husband before the revolution. So I decided to set an interview with her for a magazine in my city. I can send it for your website if it is possible for you to publish it.

My best wishes,
Majid Hojjati.

Here it its entirety is this interview. – Doug Schermer, PCIA webmaster.

Click HERE