Soldier found dead after MySpace suicide note

updated 5:37 p.m. ET April 27, 2006

TAMPA, Fla. - A 20-year-old soldier was found dead in his barracks the day after an apparent suicide note was posted on his MySpace.com Web page.

The Army has not released the cause of Pvt. Dylan Meyer’s death on Tuesday at Fort Gordon, Ga.

But the last posting on the Tampa man’s Web page seemed to indicate that he had planned to end his life. MySpace.com said there is no way to determine whether Meyer wrote the message himself.

“Jesus, I don’t know if any of you have heard what has happened to me yet, but I just want to remind you not to be sad,” said the note, posted Monday. “Laugh, that’s what lifes about ... When it is all said and done, ... it is the ones you love who you will remember.”

Meyer’s father referred questions Thursday to Army public affairs. Joe Walker, a spokesman for Meyer’s unit, the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command, said the investigation is still going on.

MySpace.com — a social networking hub with more 72 million members — allows users to post searchable profiles that can include photos of themselves and such details as what music they like.

Dustin Triplett, a friend of Meyer’s from high school, told the St. Petersburg Times that many of Meyer’s friends were surprised by his decision to join the Army early last year. Triplett said Meyer told him how much he hated the military and that he was never comfortable.

On his MySpace page, a passage addressed to other soldiers read: “Have fun you simple minded creatures. The army needs drones like you, you are what they call life long enlisted.”

A film and drama fan, Meyer made a movie on April 21 that was added to his MySpace site, a short film about Army life called “Bored As Hell: A Weekend at Ft. Gordon.”

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