What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
Kevin Hermening was just 20 years old when his world turned upside down in Tehran. The Wausau resident, then a young Marine security guard, became the youngest American held captive during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis — an ordeal that would last 444 days and shape the rest of his life.
Now, nearly five decades later, Hermening watches tensions between the United States and Iran flare once again. His unique perspective, forged through interrogations, mock executions, and 43 days in solitary confinement, offers our Northwoods community a window into a conflict that never truly ended.
“It made me appreciate freedom more than anything else,” Hermening says. “More than most people.”
November 4, 1979, started like many other days during Iran’s chaotic revolutionary period. The Shah had been deposed earlier that year. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had returned triumphantly from exile in France.
But that morning, protests reached a breaking point.
“Over a million people by the end of the day surrounded the compound,” Hermening recalls. Tens of thousands of Iranians streamed onto the embassy grounds, overwhelming security and capturing the entire staff. What began as a demonstration became a 444-day nightmare for 52 Americans, including diplomats and military personnel.
The young Marine from Wisconsin endured brutal conditions. Mock executions designed to break his spirit. Beatings that left physical and emotional scars. After a failed escape attempt, he spent more than six weeks alone in a cell, cut off from fellow hostages and any news from home.
“This was in the middle of the revolution,” he explains. The world watched as American diplomats became pawns in a geopolitical chess match that would reshape Middle Eastern relations for generations.
Hermening eventually made it home on January 20, 1981, when all 52 hostages were released following the Algiers Accords. But his journey didn’t end there.
Today, he’s deeply rooted in the Northwoods community. He owns Hermening Financial Group, a certified financial planning firm with offices across Wisconsin, including the Wausau area. He’s an active member of DAV Chapter 64 in Wittenberg and has spoken at venues throughout central Wisconsin, from Stevens Point to Portage County.
“I would love it if someday I could go back to a free Iran and maybe meet up with some of the people I befriended back then who have had to live under grueling conditions for the last 47 years.”
His story resonates with veterans and civilians alike in our region. He’s run for Congress twice as a Republican candidate, bringing his firsthand foreign policy experience to Wisconsin political conversations. At local speaking engagements on “Liberty & Leadership,” he connects his captivity experience to broader themes of resilience and American values.
The recognition came too. Hermening received the Prisoner of War Medal and the State Department Award for Valor. Yet for years, he and other hostages fought for compensation — receiving only about $50 per day of captivity in 2016, a figure many found insulting given their suffering.
The 1979 hostage crisis wasn’t just a diplomatic incident. It severed U.S.-Iran relations, triggered decades of sanctions, and created a rift that persists today.
Recent U.S. military actions against Iranian targets have brought those tensions back into headlines. For Hermening, watching from Wisconsin, the escalation feels both familiar and deeply personal.
“I wasn’t surprised that something was going to happen,” he says of recent strikes. After weeks of buildup, military action seemed inevitable. He supports preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability, viewing it through the lens of someone who experienced Iranian revolutionary fervor firsthand.
The crisis also birthed unintended consequences. Eight American servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw, a failed 1980 rescue mission that helped inspire the creation of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. That tragedy added another layer of loss to an already painful chapter.
What does 444 days of captivity teach you? For Hermening, several truths emerged:
These lessons inform his work today. Whether advising clients at his financial firm, volunteering in Northwoods veteran communities, or speaking at local events, Hermening brings a perspective few can match.
He’s also advocated for families of the servicemen killed in the rescue attempt, ensuring their sacrifice isn’t forgotten in the larger narrative of the crisis.
Nearly five decades after Iranian revolutionaries stormed the embassy, Hermening holds onto hope. He dreams of returning to a free Iran someday, reconnecting with people he knew during those harrowing months.
That hope reflects a broader truth about our Northwoods community. We understand perseverance through long winters, economic shifts, and changing times. Hermening’s story fits naturally into that narrative — a local resident who faced unimaginable hardship and emerged with purpose.
His presence in Wausau serves as a living reminder that global events touch even our most remote communities. The young Marine who left for embassy duty in 1979 returned changed, but he found a home here in north-central Wisconsin.
As tensions with Iran continue, Hermening watches with the eyes of someone who’s seen this movie before. He knows the cost of conflict, the value of diplomacy, and the weight of decisions made thousands of miles from the Northwoods.
“I hope this comes to an end fast,” he says. That sentiment — longing for resolution, for peace, for freedom — echoes across decades. From a Tehran embassy compound to a Wausau office, one man’s journey reminds us that history never truly ends. It just keeps asking us what we’ve learned.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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