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Sunday, October 23, 2005
Mind Toll
Thers points out a heartbreaking Newsday story:
Army Spc. Joseph Dwyer angled a mirror out the back window of his apartment in El Paso, Texas, trying to make out the Iraqis in the evening gloom. He couldn't see them, but he felt that they were out there somewhere, ready to attack.
Holding his 9-mm handgun tight, the 29-year-old medic from Mount Sinai phoned in an air strike using military code. He directed the fighter jets to his own street address.
Then he heard a noise from the roof -- maybe an Iraqi trying to get in? -- and that's when Dwyer began firing.
Nobody was hurt in the three-hour standoff Oct. 6 in which Dwyer, deep in a post-traumatic stress-induced delusion, barricaded himself into his apartment, fighting off an imaginary Iraqi attack.
So much has changed for Joseph Dwyer. Only two and a half years earlier, in March 2003, a startling battlefield photograph of him cradling an injured Iraqi child showed America a hopeful image of the new war.Dwyer, who is still in the service, is being treated by psychiatrists on the Army base in Fort Bliss, Texas. He was released on bail and faces a misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm in a municipality.
Good fucking god.
ntodd
October 23, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
PTSD creeps into your neighborhood as vets are finally allowed to get out and come home.
The Iragi vets have the dubious distiction of having fought in built-up areas. Highway overpasses are now looked at as possible ambush sites.
These new guys will join the WWII, Korean and Nam and Gulf War I vets scanning the treelines.
Welcome Home.
Posted by: pvt pyle | Oct 23, 2005 11:45:18 AM
Thank heavens there were no injuries, but...oy vey.
At least we were given some sort of information about this, thanks to Garry Trudeau: BD as 'everyveteran' is a rather important PSA for those otherwise unaffected by this war.
Posted by: TheaLogie | Oct 23, 2005 2:15:01 PM
I shot several interviews for an amazing documentary by Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven called After the Fog. It's interviews with combat veterans from WWI, WWII, the Spanish Civil War, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, with a particular focus on PTSD and the "life sentence" that these men and women are given when they're sent to war.
At a recent screening of the film there were some Vietnam vets in the audience and one of them pointed out with grim humor that all of the vets in the packed theatre were sitting with their backs to the walls. He aslo said that Vermont has the highest percentage of Vietnam vets in the country per capita--a statistic that I was unaware of, if it's true.
Posted by: Bill Simmon | Oct 23, 2005 3:54:56 PM
They are coming home. Will we let them be lost like the homeless vets from Vietnam, doomed to a filthy and forgotten life? Are we ready to cope with the men and women who were encouraged to hate, torture, and kill the 'other'?
Our soldiers are going to merge back into the mainstream. Will your postman be the guy who waterboarded muslims? Will your doctor be the one who advised the guards at Abu Ghraib? Will your kid's teacher have flashbacks?
Are we being told how to help heal these soldiers, to recognize and/or prevent flashbacks, guilt, hatred, withdrawal, and anger in general? Will they be encouraged to talk, to question, to accuse?
Are we ready?
Posted by: ellroon | Oct 24, 2005 2:00:42 AM
More bad news...Joseph Dwyer accidentally overdosed this past weekend and passed away. RIP, Joe. When is this country going to start taking care of our veterans??
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 2, 2008 6:11:02 PM
Just more proof of what happens when a RIGHT-WING POWER STRUCTURE gets its claws on the levers of War.
As long as wealthy cronies make even more money on top of the money they've already stolen, America's Conservatives
are happy.
To Conservatives, the troops can just go
screw themselves and DIE.
That is how Conservatives REALLY FEEL.
I have talked to a few, and some literally say that!
Conservatives and their Rulers are as shameless
as they are malicious!!
Posted by: nikto | Jul 20, 2008 2:55:05 PM
Soldier in famous photo never defeated 'demons.' He died June 28th from "huffing" himself to death.
The officers 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."
Unable to stand or even sit up, Dwyer was hoisted onto a stretcher. As paramedics prepared to load him into an ambulance, an officer noticed Dwyer's eyes had glassed over and were fixed.
A half hour later, he was dead.
Posted by: Judy | Jul 20, 2008 3:55:58 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/military_the_enemy_within
Posted by: dan | Jul 20, 2008 4:15:32 PM
some of you people make me sick. I was in Iraq and afghanistan and i have PTSD. it is managable and i am living a busy and happy life with it and few around me know about my history. the most traumatic part for me was coming back to a country full of people who didn't care and would prefer veterans to not come back at all. all of you have some kind of opinion on the war or politics and you have no right to them. you haven't seen what soldiers go through or the "welcome" they come back to. you are all a bunch of hypocrites who don't deserve the military that you have, and you don't deserve the veterans in your communities. You should be proud and hope that one of them is your postman or your children's school teacher or your doctor, they have a sence of honor and duty that you cannot comprehend and will ensure whatever job or task they have is performed to the fullest.
People like most of you are the ones that make me sick and ashamed that I fought for this country. You have made the decisions to fight the enemies of this nation in our own borders instead of "over there". You call on the military when you are afraid, alone or feel small, and then once the darkness has passed you betray the very hand that has protected you, ridiculing the way it was done and condeming the military for taking what measures are necessary to provide for your and your childrens safety and freedom. This will not last much longer, the men of the military and veterans already out see now that all they did was in vain, that you do not thank them and you are not worth the sacrifices that have been made for you. the hand that defends you and allows your ridicule is slowing fading. I pity you because you are too weak to take care of yourselves and soon your ungreatful, selfrightious attitude will leave you naked and alone
Posted by: J | Jul 20, 2008 4:33:22 PM
Well put Dan!!
Semper Fi
SSGT. Mac
Posted by: BM | Jul 20, 2008 6:20:26 PM
As I was. My comments were to J. Excuse the mistake sir.
Posted by: BM | Jul 20, 2008 6:25:01 PM
I was in Iraq and afghanistan and i have PTSD. it is managable and i am living a busy and happy life with it and few around me know about my history. the most traumatic part for me was coming back to a country full of people who didn't care and would prefer veterans to not come back at all. all of you have some kind of opinion on the war or politics and you have no right to them.
Interesting how little compassion you seem to have for the ones who don't "manage". And we prefer the veterans to come home, which is the point. But thanks for defending our rights to free speech and free thought that, uh...you think we have no right to.
Given the rest of your rant, I'd say you aren't handling the PTSD so well. Pity that the VA under Bush is not all that interested in helping you. Liberals are. Peace be with you.
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 20, 2008 6:28:10 PM
Response to Dan. I can see why you're so angry but I think you may be yelling into the wind. You seem to be angry with what what was previously posted concerning Vets getting back in to the mainstream. The sad thing is that the American people may be afraid because of the the lack of properly trained personnel to help our war vets to adjust after they return from war. We know, by accounts from returning vets that they do suffer and they ALL deserve more
from our government to give them a continum of professional treatment and not let them get lost in the system.
Posted by: Pia | Jul 20, 2008 6:44:29 PM
Hooah! civilians will never understand. the programs are there for us, but some of us choose to say we dont have PTSD. but most of us that werent fobbits, actually do, but it is the sacrifice we made when we signed our papers, to defend our country and the people in it, the media makes us look bad, and what is sad is, that most of you people believe it, I was told by a die hard liberal that us soldiers deserve to get our heads cut off over there! and all i can do is feel sorry for him. When you have kids calling a cellphone to set off an IED, because they are told if they like the soldiers then call this number when they drive by, yes civilians do die there, it is part of war, and we dont like to kill them, but when everyone looks the same, and they dont listen to you when you tell them to stop and you shoot them, it is because either they are not paying attention, or in all reality they actually had a bomb strapped to themselves. Most of you people condemning us do not know what it is like to take a human life, it is not pretty! but when it is a bad guy wanting to kill me, or one of my battles, than so be it, they can go see allah!! and hopefully most of us will make it home, and yes we do go over it again and again in our heads, what could I have done differently to save one of my brothers lives!
Posted by: Matt | Jul 20, 2008 11:54:23 PM
the media makes us look bad, and what is sad is, that most of you people believe it, I was told by a die hard liberal that us soldiers deserve to get our heads cut off over there!
I'm...skeptical of every single claim in this sentence.
Most of you people condemning us do not know what it is like to take a human life
Who's condemning you, exactly? And do you really think everybody should know what it's like to kill?
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 12:02:12 AM
the media makes us look bad, and what is sad is, that most of you people believe it, I was told by a die hard liberal that us soldiers deserve to get our heads cut off over there!
{I'm...skeptical of every single claim in this sentence.}
Really?? You dont hear about the good things we do for the people over there, all you hear about is when we kill a civilian on accident, or just the bad things that some people in the military do, for instance abu ghraib prison where only a small handful out of the thousands of soldiers in iraq did! And yes I did have someone tell me that if you came to my country and destroyed it, you should get your heads cut off.
{Who's condemning you, exactly? And do you really think everybody should know what it's like to kill?}
(you forgot to put the comment that I said it is not pretty! and yes it is very hard to kill somebody, especially when it was only a person who was not paying attention, do you think we are wild animals and enjoy taking someones life? you make it sound like we enjoy being in a country away from home from our families, wearing 75lbs of gear when it is 140F outside! And yes we are condemned! you have an argument for everything that has been said by a veteran on this board! I have been spit on, protested at the airport when I came home, with people holding signs saying "God hates you"
And to your post about the VA under bush not helping us, as I recall the VA has sucked long before Bush was in office! And I agree with J you should not have an opinion on the war, if you went over there and saw that people can actually step outside of there house now in some neighborhoods and walk to a market and say what they think (JUST LIKE YOU DO), but wait im sorry all you see is the suicide bombers on the news! UGHHHHHHHH if only you were able to see with your own eyes instead of read a book or whats on tv then maybe you would understand! Let me guess Michael Moore is your hero too right?
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 4:51:20 PM
You dont hear about the good things we do for the people over there, all you hear about is when we kill a civilian on accident...
Odd that you bring this up on a post about a heroic man who got a lot of media coverage. And why should we not hear of civilian deaths? 1.2 million, not to mention millions wounded, and millions of refugees. The point is it's not about YOU: it's about the immoral, disastrous policy that put you in harm's way and destroyed a nation's infrastructure, people, etc.
do you think we are wild animals and enjoy taking someones life?
Nope. Not at all. Astonishing that you would get that from any commentary here.
ou make it sound like we enjoy being in a country away from home from our families, wearing 75lbs of gear when it is 140F outside!
Yet another nice strawman. We never intimate that at all. We want you home.
I have been spit on, protested at the airport when I came home, with people holding signs saying "God hates you"
Wow, that sounds just like all the lies and myths that came out of Vietnam. And just remember who has the God Hates You Signs: not liberals, but Fred Phelps.
you should not have an opinion on the war
Sorry, but this is a democracy, and the military is under civilian control. Get over it.
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 5:06:56 PM
Matt, I find it amazing you lash out at those who are against the war. We are not against you or any other solider. We want this war to end; we want everyone to come home in one piece - mentally and physically.
Posted by: SRCFO | Jul 21, 2008 6:17:32 PM
Im not lashing out at people against the war, it seems politically you are against the war, but yes did we go there for wmd's and find none yes! but we also removed somebody that was almost on the same level as hitler! I saw the mass graves for myself! of course we want to bring everyone home, but what happens when we do bring everyone home?? what are you gonna say when that country literally has no help at all when we leave? are you going to say we should have stayed??? Again you have not been there! You do not see that most of their population want us there. Its not Iraqi's we are fighting there.
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 7:39:03 PM
yes did we go there for wmd's and find none yes!
Thus, an aggressive war on lies, just like Hitler's!.
but we also removed somebody that was almost on the same level as hitler!
Almost? Not the same ballpark, league, or even sport. And when it was touted as a threat against us, and when we don't act on other "Hitlers"? Sorry, your justification falls apart, particularly when we've killed far more than our alleged enemy did. You know, the one we supported during the Reagan years (not unlike Mr Noriega until he became inconvenient, or Diem).
I saw the mass graves for myself!
Liar.
what are you gonna say when that country literally has no help at all when we leave? are you going to say we should have stayed???
Nope.
Its not Iraqi's we are fighting there.
Yet they're the ones who are dying.
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 8:03:13 PM
Matt, I dont give a FUCK if I have not been to Iraq. I know we shouldn't be there and rationalizing removing Hussein by comparing him to Hitler is insane. How many Iraqis have WE killed? [And please note, I said WE...I am complicit in this catastrophe as well].
And after we bring our military home, we help them VIA PROXY rebuild their war torn country and enlist the help of allies to do the same. How do you know that country has no help? Because only big bad AMERICA can fix what we've done to them? What the fuck ever.
Why does their population want us there? Because of the infrastructure we've re-built after destroying it? Because of all the lovely, clean water they enjoy? Because of the normal lives they lead? Dude, turn off FOX News and get a clue.
And yes, we are fighting Iraqis there.
Posted by: SRCFO | Jul 21, 2008 8:15:58 PM
Ok i appreciate the expletives. Im not going to get into a right wing left wing thing here, because i am neither, all I was trying to tell you is what I witnessed in two tours in Iraq. I do not appreciate being called a liar though, for you were not there to see it, hear it, smell it!! I was trying to give a real life perspective and trying to tell you people that everything you see on the news isnt always the truth, or sometimes it shows just a little of the truth. Therefore I apologize if I offended any of you, yes I do get angered when people talk as if they experienced it themselves, when in all reality they read it,watched it,and heard it, and talk as though they really lived it! and SRCFO im sorry you feel so poorly about your country that people have bled, died,and sacrificed for. I guess you really have to experience it for yourself to have as much pride when you look at that flag as i do.
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 10:47:32 PM
Matt - somebody who has served 2 tours can't take expletives about this FUBAR war? I'd be interested in what your MOS was, what Box 26 in your DD-214 says, and where exactly you saw the alleged mass graves. And keep up the strawmen--they are certainly fun to set on fire on a nice summer night!
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 10:57:27 PM
You know what, Matt? I feel sorry for you. I don't agree with this war. I don't agree with occupying IRAQ.
You have no idea what my beliefs are, but since that's the only card you have...play it.
Posted by: SRCFO | Jul 21, 2008 11:03:11 PM
1st tour 11B
second tour reclassed to 31B
seriously do not question my service to this country!
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 11:06:11 PM
I guess not only should we, the civilian taxpayers who control the military who ostensibly protects our rights, have opinions, but neither should Adam Kokesh or the rest of the IVAW or Veterans for Peace.
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 11:10:40 PM
seriously do not question my service to this country!
Why not? You question ours.
Anyway, you were an MP? How exactly did you see the "mass graves"? Where?
And why do you think the US is responsible, except that we funded Saddam for 20 years and gave him weapons? Why do you think we should occupy a sovereign nation, kill millions of their people and spend trillions of dollars doing so?
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 11:11:24 PM
Ur right SRCFO i do not know what your beliefs are, I am not trying to play any cards sorry
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 11:12:18 PM
RIP Army Spc Dwyer.
Posted by: SRCFO | Jul 21, 2008 11:21:43 PM
I do not question yours, all i stated is that I do not like to hear an opinion from people who havent been there. Everyone can think or believe what they want that is your own opinion but honestly sometimes after going through some of the shit a lot of us have gone through, it is hard to hear peoples opinion on the war. Everyone thinks they know everything that happens shit i spent almost 3 years there and dont know everything! But no to question my service and what I did there is fucked up, I left a 6mo pregnant wife and came back to a 1yr old baby and left again and came back and my son was 3. So yes I take it pretty fuckin personal, i missed out on a lot, like birthdays, holidays, the bears being in the superbowl :)
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 11:24:35 PM
yes I reclassed to an MP once I left active duty and got into the reserves, there is no infantry in the reserves, 31B was the closest there is to 11B, unless I went to the guard.
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 11:27:25 PM
Matt - sounds rough. One reason why we don't want you in a war that achieves no goals and only kills. Sorry you don't like hearing civilians express opinions, but that's our role. We fund you, we order you to extend our political aims, and we are charged with having opinions on who you kill. We know enough of war: it is a waste of lives and treasure. Don't need to be there to understand that.
And many of your fellow veterans are fighting against the war. You might consider joining them so no more of your brothers and sisters in arms have to abandon their families and destroy Iraqi families.
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 11:30:10 PM
I sure as hell didnt want to be there, but it was my duty. as far as destroying iraqi families that hurts a bit, I think some of the same people I fought against over there, were happy when our families were destroyed on 9/11, but I think most people have forgotten about that, because Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but its the same ideology. but I never ever breached a house to look for an insurgent, hoping to destroy a family, did it happen? , yeah probably but when you dont always know who the bad guy is it makes it tough, i guess that is a demon I will fight for the rest of my life.
Posted by: Matt | Jul 21, 2008 11:45:37 PM
I sure as hell didnt want to be there, but it was my duty.
Turns out that you can also refuse immoral orders. But that's neither here nor there.
I think some of the same people I fought against over there, were happy when our families were destroyed on 9/11
Shut off Fox News.
i guess that is a demon I will fight for the rest of my life.
I believe that's been the entire fucking point.
Posted by: NTodd | Jul 21, 2008 11:55:30 PM
I think some of the same people I fought against over there, were happy when our families were destroyed on 9/11
What if they weren't?
Posted by: SRCFO | Jul 21, 2008 11:58:12 PM
I dont even watch fox news!
if they werent well I still fought them
you are right that is the fucking point
Posted by: Matt | Jul 22, 2008 12:01:42 AM
because Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but its the same ideology
ummm, not quite. Assuming WWII was a good war, how much materiel and explodey stuff did Ike divert to ravish Spain (which would've been totally awesome) since after all it had the same ideology and indeed continued to until the freaking Seventies? It is telling, the kind of thing a Roman or a (Classical) Chinese would pay attention to, that the "alQayda in Iraq" over there are Iraqis who are self-proclaimed spontaneous enlistees, not anybody Osama bussed in. There is nothing that creates terrorism like giving people no other alternative. The people of Iraq are being made alQayda sympathizers through the effective Zionism of the Bush plan. The sensible, educated and committed to peace are simply leaving (if they haven't been killed); the people left behind have no real choice. If we were Iraqis we would kill Americans and our main hope in life, besides seeing a day without fear, would be to die taking as many invaders with us as possible.
kei to yuri, formerly 4066s with 1st MarDiv, thrown out of the Babylon area for shouty crackers
Posted by: kei&yuri,former4066 | Jul 22, 2008 12:04:16 AM
Honestly, we would ravish Spain in a heartbeat. You ever seen Spain? The women don't wear burqas, and in fact they shouldn't be allowed to wear much anyhow. That would be our plan as rulers: take Spain and France and spend a long time with their food and people. The Homeland losers get their perpetual war and we get sangria.
Posted by: k&y | Jul 22, 2008 12:08:04 AM
"War is about ruining people."
I read that a long long time ago in a Family Therapy Networker article about; you guessed it: PTSD.
The best thing to do for all concerned would be to get them home and make sure they have the attention and help they need to get on with things.
Everything else is; well, not the best thing.
Posted by: shrimplate | Jul 22, 2008 2:12:11 AM
War is shit and much much worse. Sometimes, and I say, sometimes, when you come across these posts out of the blue, it seems like you are hearing a conversation by individuals who are standing in a river basin of sewage arguing what is worse: the liquid shit or the solid shit. In the meantime, the people standing on the sides are telling those wading in the shit to get out, but they already know the whole fuckin' dam of shit upriver is ready to burst shit everywhere. And if the dam doesn't burst shit, then it will probably rain shit. And it all started with one Presidential Shit. Can anyone tell us how to avoid the shit? Because even when you are wearing your rain/shit gear, it still smells like shit. I am so sick of the shit.
Posted by: Mortski | Jul 22, 2008 8:36:44 AM
Buy me stuff off my 
