Editor & Publisher: PINEHURST, N.C. A former Army medic made famous by a photograph that showed him carrying an injured Iraqi boy during the fi
July 5, 2008

Editor & Publisher:

PINEHURST, N.C. A former Army medic made famous by a photograph that showed him carrying an injured Iraqi boy during the first week of the war has died of an apparent overdose, police said.

Joseph Patrick Dwyer died last week at a hospital in Pinehurst, according to the Boles Funeral Home. He was 31. The photograph, taken in March 2003, showed Dwyer running to a makeshift military hospital while cradling the boy. The photo appeared in newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts worldwide, making Dwyer became a symbol of heroism.

His mother said the military could have done more to help with post-traumatic stress. "He just couldn't get over the war," Maureen Dwyer said. "He just couldn't do it. Just wasn't Joseph. Joseph never came home." Read on...

For Dwyer, much like the Marlboro Marine and the thousands of other nameless, faceless Iraq veterans who served in those hellish conditions, coming home was a nightmare. PTSD and horrific suicide rates have plagued our vets, while the Bush Administration can't begin to handle the staggering numbers and provide them with the mental and physical care they need. I guess these guys just need to suck it up and deal, right?

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon