Of the many who mourn former President Jimmy Carter, not everyone can say he saved their lives.

Rocky Sickmann was a 22-year-old U.S. Marine stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were kidnapped by Iranian revolutionaries on November 4, 1979 as hostages.

It defined his life — and much of Carter’s presidency.

“For the first 30 days, I sat in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking that the Vietnam War had just ended and no one cared about these thousands of veterans coming home,” the 67-year-old said. “Who cares? Iranian hostages?”

At the time, he said, he wasn’t even sure how much President Carter cared. Much of the American public echoed that sentiment. Many blame Carter for failing to bring the hostages home for more than a year.

Political historians say Carter lost a landslide victory to Ronald Reagan and served just one term as president, in part because of his handling of the hostage crisis.

The hostages were released minutes after Reagan was sworn in, although the deal had been in the works during Carter’s presidency.

Mr Hickman said Carter deserved eternal admiration for his tireless efforts to bring them home.

“He was a good man who wanted to be diplomatic. I didn’t find out until he was so involved. He knew my parents. He took care of them, and he would see them in Washington.”

When Hickman finally met Carter in person, he was not dressed appropriately for the occasion.

He laughed: “We met him in pajamas! How could you meet your commander-in-chief dressed like this!”

A year after being held hostage, Rocky and the other hostages were airlifted to Wiesbaden, Germany. The day after their arrival, Carter personally greeted them.

“It was a very exciting day because he had been in the Marines and he said meeting us was the happiest day of his life.”

The meeting was captured in a photograph that Carter sent to Hickman ten months after he was elected to the White House. Signed: “To my friend Rocky Hickman.”

But that was not the last time Mr. Hickman saw him. Just 10 years ago, he met Carter at a baseball game in Georgia. He asked the usher to pass a note to the former president.

“He read it – and all of a sudden he stood up, stood up, and turned around. I stood up and we waved to each other.”

Like Carter, Mr. Hickman continued to focus on philanthropic work. He said he was inspired by the former president to start Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of America’s fallen or disabled service members and first responders.

“President Carter was a fine Christian who married his wonderful wife and continued his career of service. I don’t know if I will be as good as him, but I hope to be able to do the same thing.”

The charity was established in memory of the eight American service members who lost their lives during the hostage rescue. In 1980, the mission, known as Talon, failed miserably when three helicopters malfunctioned. This was the final political straw for Carter – although he won the Democratic nomination, he was defeated by Ronald Reagan in that year’s election.

Although the Iran hostage crisis will be a stain on Carter’s legacy, Hickman said he owes his life to Jimmy Carter.

“From morning to night, 444 days, I have never prayed so hard in my life that God would be on our side,” he said.

“But President Carter also kept us alive. He kept us in front of the world and made sure people prayed for us, too.”