It was one of the most widely-published photographs of the Iraq war, second only to the iconic "Marlboro Marine" of the Fallujah massacre. Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, an Army medic in the early days of the Iraq invasion, carries a half-naked and frightened Iraqi child to apparent safety. It captured what we thought of as the best of the American soldier, and it made Private Dwyer an instant hero.
Sadly, Private Dwyer died last month in North Carolina at age 31. Ever since returning from Iraq he had been in and out of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. His wife left him to save herself and their young daughter. When the police broke down the door of his apartment on June 28, they found him dying among pill bottles and cans of cleaning solvent that friends said he sniffed to deaden his pain.
America and its leaders are in denial about the enormous toll of the Iraq war in human life and suffering. From the very beginning it has been a senseless undertaking for which no one is held accountable. The heroic young men and women of the U.S. military who have sacrificed dearly in the name of duty have done it all for nothing. So too, the suffering of untold numbers of Iraqis caught in the conflict is nothing but a senseless waste. Will we ever learn?
Read more about Private Joseph Dwyer...
By the way, the "Marlboro Marine", James Blake Miller, has also struggled with PTSD since his return from Iraq and is deeply embittered about the war.
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