April 25, 1980: The Failed Desert One Rescue

April 25, 1980: Operation Eagle Claw is launched. It becomes known by its staging area, codenamed Desert One. It was an attempt to rescue the Americans being held hostage by the Iranian government. It was one of the earliest operations of the U.S. Army's Delta Force special-operations group.

But of the 8 helicopters meant to be involved, one had hydraulic problems, one had a cracked rotor blade, and another was caught in a sandstorm. The field commanders got word back to Washington, saying the mission should be aborted. President Jimmy Carter gave that order.

But as the helicopters withdrew, one crashed into a transport aircraft, killing 8 servicemen. Had that not happened, Carter could have simply not told the country what had happened -- and he could have gotten away with it, because nothing had happened.

During his 1976 campaign for President, Carter told the American people, "I will never lie to you." The words had great resonance in the wake of Richard Nixon and Watergate. If the mission were aborted, and he didn't reveal it, it wouldn't have been a lie, just an omission, necessary due to national security. The story might have remained a secret for years. But Carter couldn't hide this.

And so he addressed the nation early in the morning, U.S. time, from the Oval Office in the White House. He was already in trouble in his bid for re-election. Had the mission succeeded, all the talk of the apparent Republican nominee for President, former Governor Ronald Reagan of California, of the Democrats being weak on national security would have evaporated. Instead, Carter now looked absolutely hopeless. His only hope of winning after this was getting the hostages home before the election on November 4. He didn't.

Three days later, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had advised Carter not to go through with the rescue plan, resigned. It was the 1st time a Secretary of State had resigned over a difference of principle with his President since William Jennings Bryan quit on Woodrow Wilson over the approach to World War I in 1915.

Cyrus Vance

Carter appointed Senator Ed Muskie of Maine, the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1968, to replace Vance. He was easily confirmed, and proved vital in the negotiations to get the hostages released.

When President Barack Obama was told of the chance to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011, he knew that if the mission failed, it would be "his Desert One," and he would probably lose his bid for re-election. Advised to do so by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he gave the order to go ahead, and it worked spectacularly: The target was eliminated, and none of our people were lost. Obama was re-elected.

He was lucky. Carter was not.

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April 25, 1980 was a Friday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between rounds. The NBA Playoffs were in the Conference Finals. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics, 102-90 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 104-100 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. The Lakers would beat the Sixers in the Finals.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 6-0 at Yankee Stadium. Steve Trout pitched a 7-hit shutout. And it wouldn't be the last time he hurt the Yankees. Ed Figueroa lasted only 4 innings. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4. Jim Morrison hit a home run for the White Sox. No, not the lead singer for The Doors, although their organist, Ray Manzarek, grew up as a White Sox fan on the South Side of Chicago.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 7-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. J.R. Richard was the winning pitcher. Just 3 months later, this would-be Hall-of-Famer suffered a stroke, and never played another major league game.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 8-7 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Chris Chambliss doubled home Jerry Royster in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 11-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Willie Stargell went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 0-for-5.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-0 at Royals Stadium (later renamed Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Larry Gura pitched a 4-hit shutout. George Brett tripled home a run in the 1st inning, and then had to leave the game due to an injury.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Dave Winfield hit a home run for the Padres.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* And the California Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Rod Carew went 0-for-4.