Kevin Hermening, of Wausau, was the youngest of the 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days beginning in 1979 by Shi’ite Muslims in Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s revolution in Iran. (Courtesy UWSP)

Former Iran hostage to speak in Stevens Point

May 30, 2023June 2, 2023

Metro Wire Staff

The youngest of the Americans held hostage for 444 days during the Iran hostage crisis is coming to Stevens Point.

Kevin Hermening, who is now a small business owner, Marine Corps veteran, and community volunteer, will speak at the Portage Co. Business Council’s Keynote Conference on June 27 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center.

Hermening was a 20-year-old Marine sergeant assigned to guard the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 when he became the youngest of the 52 Americans taken hostage and held for over a year by Shi’ite Muslims in Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s revolution.

Hermening will present “Liberty & Leadership,” a personal glimpse into a difficult time in America’s history.

He served a total of 13 years in the Marine Corps and received an honorable discharge in 1994. Hermening is the recipient of the U.S. State Department’s Award for Valor and received the Prisoner of War Medal, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the nation’s highest peacetime military decoration from the Department of Defense.

The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to noon. Admission is $35 for Portage Co. Business Council members and $40 for non-members and includes a plated breakfast.

Hermening is also a certified financial planner and owner of Hermening Financial Group, with six offices throughout Wisconsin.

Click here to register. Reservations are due by Thursday, June 22.