Gary E. Lee, diplomat who was Iran hostage, dies at 67

Gary E. Lee, a State Department officer in Tehran who in 1979 was taken hostage by Iranian militants and braved mock executions, beatings and near-starvation during 444 days in captivity, died Oct. 10 at his home in Fulton, Texas, of cancer. He was 67.

Lee was one of 52 Americans held inside the U.S. Embassy until they were released Jan. 20, 1981. Another hostage, Richard Morefield, who was U.S. consul general at the time, died Oct. 11.

Lee, the son of a missionary in India, joined the State Department in 1971. He gained a reputation as a troubleshooter and was often sent to danger spots, including Syria and Yemen. He handled logistics for presidential visits to the Middle East and was a key coordinator for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's "shuttle diplomacy" in the 1970s.

In May 1979, Lee volunteered for service in Iran, where anti-American fervor echoed in the streets during protests of a U.S. decision to grant temporary shelter to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the ailing Iranian shah. The political turmoil peaked Nov. 4, 1979, when a mob of Iranians stormed the embassy.

Lee escaped out a back door and was sprinting through an alley when Kalashnikov rifle bullets whizzed by his ears. He was apprehended by militants several blocks from the compound.

He was confined to a windowless room that the prisoners dubbed the "mushroom." Kept in isolation for weeks at a time, he told later how he "made friends" with a salamander and how he teased ants with a pistachio, nudging the nut along the floor to keep it out of their reach.

Lee lost 30 pounds. To keep himself alert, he designed a patio in his head to add on to his home in Virginia. He was blindfolded, beaten and subjected to three mock executions. He recalled imagining that he "could feel the bullets in my back."

Gary Earl Lee was born Feb. 4, 1943, in Kingston, N.Y.

Upon his return home, Lee received more than 300 letters - and several cases of beer. He responded to every piece of mail. He continued to work for the State Department and did not rule out working abroad again. "I won't go to Iran," he said. "But I'll go anywhere else."

He said coming home after being a hostage was difficult. The duration of his captivity strained his relationship with his wife, Pat, and they divorced after his return home.

Lee retired to Texas. At the 301 Bar and Grill recently, his usual bar stool had been ceremonially tipped forward to mark his absence. On the bar, bartenders placed one shot glass upside down and another filled to the rim with scotch.