Iraq Medic Dies After Homecoming Struggle

I cannot know what it's like to be in combat. I cannot know the stresses endured from having survived the fighting, and for some, having returned home a hero from battle.

Perhaps all of this was too much for Army Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer, famous for his heroism at Al Faysaliyah, Iraq, on March 25, 2003, pictured here:

Sadly, Dwyer died of an accidental overdose on June 28, as reported by the Army Times.

Never likely to miss a chance to demonize the war, and victimize the troops, Firedoglake had this to say upon the news of Dwyer's death:

With all the negative news coming from Afghanistan and Pakistan lately -- including deadly bombings on Friday and Sunday in which the Americans claims "insurgents" were killed, while the Afghan authorities claim the victims were civilians -- the McCain surrogates are trying hard to keep the media and voters focused on Iraq and not the consequences of their Iraq policies everywhere else.

It's the same misdirection McCain advocated when he and the Bush regime misled the country into the disastrous Iraq war in the first place. To obscure that strategic blunder, he's doubling down in Iraq, hoping US and NATO forces in Afghanistan can hold on just long enough for McCain and Bush to avoid taking responsibility for both mistakes.

And he's hoping the public will not notice our invasion essentially destroyed much of Iraq and continues its tragic toll on American troops.

My hopes, prayers, and deepest thanks go out to Dwyer's family.

For information on PTSD, see the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

See also, Robert Kaplan, "Modern Heroes: Our Soldiers Like What They Do. They Want Our Respect, Not Pity," and Jeffrey Schmidt, "For Liberals, Soldiers Are Victims."