Joseph Patrick Dwyer was an American soldier, who was initially most famous for being photographed helping an ailing Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i boy. Dwyer had enrolled himself in the US military after 9/11 and was stationed in Iraq. He died on June 28, 2008 due to excessive inhalation of Dust-Off

Dust-Off

Dust-Off is a brand of dust cleaner containing difluoroethane; it is used to remove particulates and dust from computers and electronic equipment...

, an aerosol spray meant to clean electronic equipment, which he used as a sedative

Sedative

A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....

. He was said to have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

External links

• "US Iraq war hero Joseph Dwyer dies of apparent drugs overdose" - Telegraph
• "GI in famous photo suffered a private hell" - Journal Gazette
• "Soldier in famous photo never defeated 'demons'" - USA Today
• "Soldier returns from Iraq to share story with ROTC students" - Richmond County Daily Journal
• "Former War Photographer Remembers Soldier" - CBS News
• http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/915278311.html?dids=915278311:915278311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+23%2C+2005&author=INDRANI+SEN.+STAFF+WRITER&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=From+war+hero+to+war+haunted%2C+LI+vet+depicted+in+famous+struggle+with+menacing+stress+disorder+that+escalated+to+a+standoff&pqatl=google"From war hero to war haunted, LI vet depicted in famous struggle with menacing stress disorder that escalated to a standoff" - News Day]
• "What Happens When Soldiers Come Home From War?" - Eyewitness News