a photograph - of joseph dwyer

and some memories are what is left of the (former) medic
he died an ugly death. our sons and daughters are dying ugly deaths. the fault lies with that rotten, oozing maggot infested administration of king george. we cannot allow our loved ones to continue to die in this manner and ways far worse (which the military does NOT readily admit to).

this is not a war we can win. this is a war we NEVER should have entered. let's save who we can right now. it's too late for some, but we CAN AND MUST preserve their memories

just because they're home DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE SAFE

Soldier in famous photo never defeated 'demons'
Associated Press
By ALLEN G. BREED and KEVIN MAURER, Associated Press Writers

PINEHURST, N.C. - Officers had been to the white ranch house at 560 W. Longleaf many times before over the past year to respond to a "barricade situation." Each had ended uneventfully, with Joseph Dwyer coming out or telling police in a calm voice through the window that he was OK.

But this time was different.

The Iraq War veteran had called a taxi service to take him to the emergency room. But when the driver arrived, Dwyer shouted that he was too weak to get up and open the door.

The officers asked Dwyer for permission to kick it in.

"Go ahead!" he yelled.

They found Dwyer lying on his back, his clothes soiled with urine and feces. Scattered on the floor around him were dozens of spent cans of Dust-Off, a refrigerant-based aerosol normally used to clean electrical equipment.

Dwyer told police Lt. Mike Wilson he'd been "huffing" the aerosol.

"Help me, please!" the former Army medic begged Wilson. "I'm dying. Help me. I can't breathe."........

and from the photographer who took that picture

My photograph made Joseph Dwyer famous. Did it also help lead to his death?

Posted by Warren Zinn

Warren Zinn covered Afghanistan and Iraq as a photojournalist for the Army Times from January 2002 to December 2003. He is now a student at the University of Miami School of Law.
The e-mail was a punch in the gut: "the soldier you made famous -- killed himself last Saturday -- thought you should know."
I thought I'd put photojournalism and war behind me four and a half years ago when I traded in the dusty battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan for law school in Miami. But those words reminded me that you never truly leave the battlefield behind.
I knew at once what the message meant: Joseph Dwyer was dead. I drove home in a daze and walked into my apartment. And there was Joseph, on the wall, looking at me. ........