Army Capt. William Murphy spent his 41st birthday sunburned in sweltering 123-degree weather at yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony for Baghdad Islands amusement park.
Once a popular Iraqi vacation destination along the Tigris River, Baghdad Island included a bowling alley, amphitheater and observation tower constructed in the '70s, Murphy said. The park closed around 2003.
Government officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and U.S. Army personnel watched as a chain was cut from the door of the 150-foot observation tower, symbolizing what is hoped to be a new era of prosperity, Murphy said in a phone interview yesterday.
Murphy, a Waltham native, said yesterday's ceremony was in part an effort by U.S.-led coalition forces to restore facilities and destination spots that became defunct under Saddam Hussein's regime.
"We've decided to revitalize areas to provide economic stimulus in those areas," Murphy said. "The project we started today was cleaning out a lakebed and pumping water into the lakebed."
Murphy explained the lake has been empty since 2003 and he recently hired a contractor to clean it and pump in water from the Tigris River.
The efforts to rebuild these attractions has a deadline of July 1, Murphy said. Under the Status of Forces Agreement, U.S. combat troops must beginning departing Baghdad by the end of the month.
"All of our efforts are on reconstruction projects now, whereas before our focus was on security and helping the government as best we can," he said. "We have to refocus ourselves and re-energize ourselves and have a mission and that mission is the reconstruction efforts instead of security."
Murphy serves as a civil affairs team leader with the 1st "Black Knights" Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army's Multi-National Division in Baghdad. He is stationed in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad. But back home he lives in Fort Bragg, Calif.
On June 17, Murphy and his team celebrated another reconstruction victory when they held a groundbreaking ceremony for a community pool in Sha'ab, a region in northeast Baghdad that Murphy described as "grossly, densely populated."
"It borders Sadr City, which is a rough neighborhood. Sadr City is known for being overcrowded. Sha'ab is sort of like a suburb of that city," he said. "In the eastern part of the area, it starts to turn into a desert. It's a very dry, very hot place. There's no trees really. There's not a lot of opportunities for younger people to have any recreation."
Murphy and his team hired local contractors and led efforts to renovate the pool. Originally built in the early 1980s, the pool, which is shaped like Mickey Mouse, was in need of renovation after more than 20 years of use, Murphy said.
"Our main goal was to give families a safe recreation place," he said. "Knowing it's a (predominately) Shiite neighborhood, we constructed both a male and female shower room. Males and females don't recreate together. It's part of their culture. Mostly fathers and sons go (to the pool) at certain times and mothers and daughters go at different times."
The $450,000 project was funded by the Commanders Emergency Response Program. During the renovation, broken tiles were replaced, the pool's surface was painted and new pipes were installed in the changing room and showers.
An underground filter system was also replaced. The system was corroded and filled with roots and debris from lack of use. It took 30 days to repair the pool.
"I was envious that I couldn't do a cannonball (into the pool), but I'm not quite ready to drop my kit. I'm keeping my vest on," he said. "It's important because the kids had no place to go. There's no place other than the streets to hang out. It's a good place to give them a sense of being a child."
Murphy was deployed in August and is scheduled to return to the U.S. in September.
Murphy was born and raised in Waltham. He joined the Army shortly after graduating from Waltham High in 1986. When he's not deployed, Murphy comes back to the city and fishes and kayaks along the Charles River.
"I'm back there frequently at least three or four times a year," he said. "Some of my favorite restaurants are there and I'm really happy to see Moody Street nowadays. Parking is rough, but I'm happy to see it as vibrant as it is."
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
