By Steve Tawa

CHELTENHAM, Pa. (CBS) – One of the American hikers imprisoned in Iran for two-years returned to his alma mater, Cheltenham High School, for a homecoming visit.

Josh Fattal (at right in photo) thanked students and teachers for helping in the Free the Hikers campaign during his 781-day ordeal.

The 29-year old Fattal brought them back to the initial moments, when he and two hiker friends feared that they would be executed.

“Those first three days, they moved us from prison to prison. They didn’t know what to do with us.”

Then, there were the interrogations – some serious, and some, not so much.

“They didn’t even know what to ask me. Finally, they found someone who spoke English, and when he sat me down, he said, ‘to prove you’re not a spy, please spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’”

Then, there were long days of isolation, peppered with moments of hope, when he was allowed to get letters from the outside, and finally, elation when freed last September.