Camp Slayer tour divulges Baghdad's history

Photo By Michel Sauret | Sgt. James Lee, of Clarksville, Tenn., directs a tour at the Victory Over America palace on Camp Slayer.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

12.15.2008

Story by Spc. Sophia Klevemann 

Multi-National Division-Central

By Spc. Sophia R. Lopez
Multi-National Division - Center

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Camp Slayer is home to a variety of historic sites: the Victory Over America and Victory Over Iran Palaces, the Ba'ath Party House and Flintstone Village.

The history of these sites intrigues Soldiers of the coalition and Iraqi forces alike. One man is responsible for sharing these sites with the service members, coalition partners and contractors at Camp Victory. That man is Sgt. James Lee, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation non-commissioned officer-in-charge with the 2145th Garrison Support Unit, 81st Regional Readiness Command.

Lee, of Clarksville, Tenn., guides the Camp Slayer tour every Sunday and occasionally upon request by small groups for private tours.

The Sunday tour includes the Victory Over America Palace and Ba'ath Party House. Lee compiled information from the Internet, through DVDs and from those who guided the tours before him. He uses his research to guide eager listeners through the sites.

The private tours include the Victory Over Iran Palace and the former house of Uday, Saddam Hussein's oldest son.

"I knew very little about Saddam," said Lee about his knowledge prior to directing the tours. Providing tours helped him to learn more about the history around Baghdad. "I didn't know how he paid for palaces and treated people," he added.

Lee discovered the structures were paid for with money from oil for food program.

"I learned one of the reasons we came to this country; why we did what we did," he said. "[I learned all this] through the atrocities of Saddam Hussein. It's kind of sad when you think about it."

Baghdad, a city of seven million people, has seen quite a change seen coalition forces began operations in the city.

"We are helping the people of Baghdad by taking [Saddam] out of power, giving the people back their water and helping them get food and medicine," said Lee.

Lee, who was born and raised in Miami, looks at Baghdad as a completely different side of the coin. Compared to Baghdad, Miami, a city of four and half million people, has a broader range of culture and religious groups.

"When people think of Miami, most people think of the beaches, South Beach," he said.

With Baghdad, Saddam comes to most people's minds, said Lee. Unfortunately, Saddam used much of Iraq's money to build the lavish palaces, guest houses and lakes around what is now Victory Base Complex, instead of getting food, water and medicine to the people.

All these facts Lee learned during his tour research adds to his military experiences - in a positive way. Lee now serves in the Army Reserve, and he believes his military career and experiences like these helped him become a better person.

"I wasn't always a good guy ... I would have ended up being a non-contributor to society," said Lee. "[The military] definitely changed my life."

The military gave him more discipline, purpose and drive.

"It got me out of Miami."

Lee said Miami was a place where a young person could easily find trouble.

Lee has been in the military since enlisting immediately following high school in 1992. After spending some time on active duty as an artillery Soldier, he joined the reserves as a finance Soldier. Then, in 1999, he joined the Air Force Reserves as a medical technician. He wanted to try something different, Lee said. However, he realized he missed the ways of the Army and returned in 2003.

This is Lee's first deployment, and he has been in Iraq since April. Lee said he has learned much about the history and how the Iraqi people feel about the military's presence.

"Not everybody hates us. When I did the tour one time, I had an Iraqi special operations group here and their commanding general," said Lee. "They didn't know about the lakes. They had no clue about the water. I explained to them how he [Saddam] got the water here and how he paid for the buildings."

The lakes around Camp Slayer were all man-made under Saddam's instruction.

"You could see in some of their faces, they were saddened. They knew family members that died in hospitals with no medicine, but he had the palace."

"I now have a better understanding of why we are here," he said. "But maybe we should have done it 10 years sooner to alleviate all the suffering."

• Date Taken: 12.15.2008
• Date Posted: 12.15.2008 03:46
• Story ID: 27689
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ