Army medic made famous in Iraq photo dies

Joseph Patrick Dwyer, 31, dies of an apparent overdose

	Pfc. Joe Dwyer carried a young Iraqi boy who was injured during a heavy battle between the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment and Iraqi forces near the village of Al Faysaliyah on March 25, 2003. Dwyer died of an apparent overdose at his home in North Carolina on June 29.
Warren Zinn / Army Times

Video: Military news

Pentagon recommends reducing troops in Iraq by 8,000
Sept. 5: The number of American combat brigades in Iraq would shrink from 15 to 14 by February, according to a recommendation to President Bush by Pentagon officials. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

Lawn care volunteers help keep military families rooted

A noun, a verb and P.O.W.

Feeling the draft?

Marines role play to prepare for combat

	Photos of soldiers who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	Pictures and messages from U.S. troops overseas and their friends, family at home.

Laid to rest at Arlington

Reuters

Each week in ‘The Daily Nightly,’ NBC's John Rutherford pays tribute to the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fact file

How big’s a division? What’s a battalion?

updated 2:15 p.m. ET July 8, 2008

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 in March 2003 has died of an apparent overdose, police said.

The photograph of Joseph Patrick Dwyer running to a makeshift military hospital while cradling the boy appeared in newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts worldwide.

Dwyer died late last month at a hospital in Pinehurst, according to the Boles Funeral Home. He was 31.

Story continues below ↓

After the photo was published, Dwyer laughed when a reporter told him of its widespread circulation and tried to deflect focus to his entire unit. His mother, Maureen, said then that the photo embarrassed her son because it singled him out while other soldiers were doing the same thing.

On June 28, Dwyer called a local taxi service to take him to the hospital after an apparent overdose, Capt. Floyd Thomas of the Pinehurst Police Department told the Fayetteville Observer. When the driver arrived, Dwyer said he couldn't get to the door, according to a police report.

Police kicked in the door at Dwyer's request, and he was taken by ambulance to a Pinehurst hospital. Thomas said bottles of prescription pills were found near Dwyer when police arrived. The former medic died later that night, according to authorities.

Dwyer served with the 3rd Squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of Fort Stewart, Ga. He earned the Combat Medical Badge and other military awards.

Discuss Story On Newsvine
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh
Email
Instant Message
Print