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Medic in famous photo dies after PTSD struggle »

Posted by: Aidenag 1 month, 3 weeks ago

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During the first week of the war in Iraq, a Military Times photographer captured the arresting image of Army Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer as he raced through a battle zone clutching a tiny Iraqi boy. But rather than going on to enjoy the public affection for his act of heroism, he was consumed by the demons of combat stress he could not exorcise.

Read Full Story at militarytimes.com

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Comments So Far: 44

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GregD1 month, 3 weeks ago

What a sad story...
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unome21 month, 3 weeks ago

Imagine the horror for our young idealistic soldiers who believed they were going to help the Iraqi people and instead watched as innocent civilians were bombed, shot and terrorized by the U.S. Military for our corporate masters.
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  xlegultx1 month, 3 weeks ago
  
  And then you find out it was really the disgusting acts of terrorism by the suicide bombers which made them go crazy.
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    dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    illegally invading and occupying a sovereign nation on a fabricated pretext in which all who die have and will die for nothing is beyond disgusting
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    PsychoHosebeast1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    Keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll be convinced sooner or later. We all know, of course, that no Americans have ever killed anyone in Iraq, right?
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    dunkirk1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    Maybe you need refrehser seems the ones who attacked are over in Afghanistan, not IRAQ. But hey the oil is in Afghanistan right? Can't wait for the Limpaw to call him a "phony" soldier too.
    Another of the long list of dead from the War of Errors all for corporate greed.
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    xlegultx1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    Its amazing how absolutely none of you have any idea how this man was traumatized but you will easily accept the fact that he served under a barbaric country. No wonder we haven't made any advancements in anything, seeing how no one in this country seems to be able to see straight right now.
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  bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
  
  You might consider saving your venom for another time and place. A good man has died, and that's sin enough for one posting.
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    dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    yes a good many has died. many good men have died. many more good men will continue to die. all for nothing. condemnation of this evil is pertinent and poignant anytime, any place, any where
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      bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
      
      You're right; my mistake. This is all about you and your needs.
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        dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        what a ridiculous assessment. this is about sanity and humanity. the big picture. you're the one who shows cynical disrespect and contempt by haughtily presuming some kind of moral etiquette and civil superiority to which you are not eligible for no other reason than that you love this war and all its tomfoolery and you fully condone it. the self-centredness is all yours fool
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        xlegultx1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        If this was more than you and your needs, you would be out there doing something. Not in your home posting on propeller.
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        dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        you don't know the first thing about me or what i do
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        xlegultx1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        I know you're quite redundant and close minded in this thread.
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        dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        all you know about me is that you do not agree with me. nothing more nothing less. save your projection for somebody else
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        xlegultx1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        I know more than that. I know you believe in a bunch of ****** and do not care about degrading a soldier's image in order to get your ****** theories across as if they are mind breaking. And you lack creativity and you borrow "intelligent and popular" phrases to make yourself look smart.
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        bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        I think this is about a brave man who died, whose service we should honor, whose values are exemplified by the courage he repeatedly showed. I think this is about the loss his family will feel forever, and a loss we should all feel a little because a good piece of America is gone. I think this is about his brothers in arms, who will blame themselves for not having done more to help him even though they probably have done more for him than the average person does for his or her friends. That's as big a picture as is needed here.
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        dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        not big enough
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        bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        It's becuase you're seeing this through your eyes, your emotions, your biases. Try all that through his widow's eyes. If you concentrate, you may get some appreciation for what she's going through. It's the real "big picture".
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        dissent1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        not big enough
        every widow, every soldier, every child, every son, every daughter, every father, every mother, every american, every iraqi, every victim, every human being on planet earth who must suffer directly or indirectly because of a pointless, meaningless, illegal, unjustifiable, lied about, imperial, callous, hypocritical, barbaric war that has through no choice of their own whatsoever dramatically, despairingly, horrifically and violently changed the course of their lives if it hasn't deprived them of it altogether.
        there must be a few million, crying, weeping, pleading eyeballs that YOU should really try seeing through
        why don't YOU try and SEE how THEY feel before you put ropes around an issue in order to contain it in a manner that suits your own agenda? and please, do concentrate
        need we really go on?
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debtcollectionorComment removed: User banned.2 Replies
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  PsychoHosebeast1 month, 3 weeks ago
  
  No it isn't, it's always been like this, and it's always been ignored.
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  - baddad59Comment removed: User banned.
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wtagg1 month, 3 weeks ago

These types of deaths go unaccounted as casualties of war. I hope you find peace, Mr. Dwyer. Your sacrifice, like those of your fellow soldiers, is immeasurable.
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  GHOSTWHOWALKS1 month, 3 weeks ago
  
  Amen
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    wtagg1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    I wonder what can be construed as possibly bad with our comments.
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      GHOSTWHOWALKS1 month, 3 weeks ago
      
      Idiots can find something wrong with breathing.
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        bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        Tagg, what I construed as bad was that these deaths go unaccounted. It's actually quite the opposite.
        Ghost, for agreement without consideration.
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        wtagg1 month, 3 weeks ago
        
        How are they accounted? Where are they accounted?
        Please show where the accounting takes place. Did the casualty count for the Iraq effort go up one when Mr. Dwyer passed on?
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Charlson1 month, 3 weeks ago

His story is so sad. Some people are just not able to innoculate themselves from the horrors and stresses of war while others are able to cope.
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PsychoHosebeast1 month, 3 weeks ago

Nice try at installing malware... reported, of course
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jordan111 month, 3 weeks ago

No words.
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catstevensComment removed: User banned.
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bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago

My condolences to his family. A good man, too.
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MurphyStout1 month, 3 weeks ago

Bless him, his family, and those he brought help too.
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foksipayne1 month, 3 weeks ago

I posted this yesterdy,too. Didn't get any attention from it. but I am glad I am not the only one saddened by this, and the many other cases of ptsd. The photo is a beautiful reminder of the honor and courage our soldiers have. Bless them all.
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nikkibabe1 month, 3 weeks ago

One instance of "humanity" does not right thousand & thousand instances of murder, rape and senseless killing of innocent Iraqi men, women and children for oil.
Also, it is a tragedy of the century that the so called "Iraqi Government" is nothing but a hand full of corrupt Iraqis who condone the mass murders of their own fellow citizens to get "money" from US Government.
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canadianrancher571 month, 3 weeks ago

There are two things that sadden me about this story, the first one is the death on a man who did things for the right reasons, he wanted to defend his country and stop the people who brought death to his countrymen, so he joined up. Then when in Iraq serving his country he did not lose sight of what was right and what was wrong and saved the life of a child. I will not go into whether the war is right or wrong because we cannot turn back time but I would like to focus on the second thing that is sad about this story and that is that since the beginning of wars PTSD has occured and it seems no government anywhere does much to deal with it. There have been wars fought under Democrats and Republicans and all of these wars caused PTSD. While sitting here feeling sad about this maybe we should start making our leaders and governments make the changes for the future so that the help is more than just lip service.
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  bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
  
  There is a tremendous amount of support for our returning military, have no fear. Stories with this severity always make the news, but the vast majority get the help they need. It will never solve the problem, but the help includes coping strategies that can literally save a life.
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    foksipayne1 month, 3 weeks ago
    
    That's what I've heard, what with the Veteran hospital scandal, the unreceived college tuitions, Soldiers being sued/ kicked out for refusing to do something they knew would be wrong or immoral.
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canadianrancher571 month, 3 weeks ago

bigurn- I am not real familiar with the support for returning military but I was wondering if it is available in most regions of the country or is it more available to those in the larger population areas.
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  bigurn1 month, 3 weeks ago
  
  Depends upon what you mean by "support". Everything I am familiar with personally is Federal.
  The military has Medical departments for Psychiatry and Phisiology. They treat obvious injuries, and treat intangible injuries. There are programs that treat alcoholism and drug problems. There are counseling services for marriage problems. There are religious services avaiable for confession, meditation and prayer (dozens of faiths are served, by the way).
  I understand VA services are similar, but I've never personally used them. They also offer the support of Veteran's groups, with folks who've "been there". Again, I don't know details.
  I've heard that USO volunteers have been trained in emergency support for something that may happen in their offices, but again I don't know for sure.
  No idea what Guard units do - they're state units, but I bet it's similar and the Federal government at least supports it.
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canadianrancher571 month, 3 weeks ago

bigurn- Thanks for the info, I might be going out on a limb here but I think with PTSD the biggest problem is the admitting by one that there is a problem, and in this case the young man was recognized as a hero which carries an addional burden of something to live up to. There have been comments on this site by people who have suffered through this by themselves and I feel sorry for what they have gone through but if help is available then it is up to the individual to seek it out. This is a difficult problem that really may have to easy solution.
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cushi1 month, 3 weeks ago

The war in Iraq is a travesty and a tragedy in many ways! The casualties are legion! This wonderful human being was reduced to numbing himself with drugs and aerosol spray. What is wrong with this picture?
He was and is a true hero for his service and sacrifice. My condolences go out to his family and all who knew him best and loved him most.
For the love of God, BRING OUR SOLDIERS OUT OF THAT HELL HOLE!!
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Aidenag

Photographer by day, news junkie by night. My main areas of interest are politics and the environment. If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions ...

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