Joseph Dwyer was photographed in March 2003 carrying an Iraqi boy who had been injured during fighting. Dwyer died late last month. (Warren Zinn / Army Times)
From Newsday:
The March 2003 image became one of the most iconic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq: that of a bespectacled American soldier carrying an Iraqi child to safety. The photograph of Army Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, who was raised in Mount Sinai, was used by news outlets around the world.
After being lionized by many as the human face of the U.S. effort to rebuild a troubled Iraq, Dwyer brought the battlefield home with him, often grappling violently with delusions that he was being hunted by Iraqi killers.
Read more ....
More News on Joseph Dwyer
Soldier in Iconic Picture Dead at 31 -- American ThinkerOverdose kills ex-Fort Bliss soldier -- El Paso Times
Iraq Vet in Famous Press Photo Dies from Overdose -- Editor And Publisher
Video From ABC Channel 11 News
My Comment: Dwyer joined the military 2 days after the September 11th terrorist attacks, returning home to accolades and to dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Even though he had a strong safety net of family and friends, he could not overcome the nightmares of PTSD. Apparently the 31-year-old collapsed and died after abusing a computer cleaner aerosol.
My father was a survivor of the Russian Front, fighting for the Soviet Army for four years. Growing up I had trouble accepting my fathers condition, i always felt embarrassed to be seen with him. It is only years later that I began to understand that his experiences and nightmares were the same thing that Vietnam Vets were experiencing when they started to come back home. That my father was also was experiencing PTSD.
PTSD strikes people differently ..... and some appear to be immune to it. For some, the scars heal with time .... for others it never does.
My sincere condolences goes to the Dwyer family and their loss.
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