ninjageek Posted July 20, 2008 CID Share Posted July 20, 2008 This is just one of way to many stories that just break my heart. PINEHURST, N.C. - Officers had been to the white ranch house at 560 W. Longleaf many times before over the past year to respond to a "barricade situation." Each had ended uneventfully, with Joseph Dwyer coming out or telling police in a calm voice through the window that he was OK. But this time was different. The Iraq War veteran had called a taxi service to take him to the emergency room. But when the driver arrived, Dwyer shouted that he was too weak to get up and open the door. The officers asked Dwyer for permission to kick it in. "Go ahead!" he yelled. They 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. When Dionne Knapp learned of her friend's June 28 death, her first reaction was to be angry at Dwyer. How could he leave his wife and daughter like this? Didn't he know he had friends who cared about him, who wanted to help? But as time passed, Knapp's anger turned toward the Army. A photograph taken in the first days of the war had made the medic from New York's Long Island a symbol of the United States' good intentions in the Middle East . When he returned home, he was hailed as a hero. But for most of the past five years, the 31-year-old soldier had writhed in a private hell, shooting at imaginary enemies and dodging nonexistent roadside bombs, sleeping in a closet bunker and trying desperately to huff away the "demons" in his head. When his personal problems became public, efforts were made to help him, but nothing seemed to work. This broken, frightened man had once been the embodiment of American might and compassion. If the military couldn't save him, Knapp thought, what hope was there for the thousands suffering in anonymity? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/military_the_enemy_within Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommie gorman Posted July 20, 2008 CID Share Posted July 20, 2008 Calm down there. He needed help for sure. But our boys from Vietnam went through way worse. They had pretty much NO moral support when they arrived back home. Pretty much forgotten by the military, and shunned as baby killers. And many more things that todays soldier is not putting up with. Its a nasty job yes. And so many will not even bother to join and give these poor boys a break, So many just sit here and say the war is wrong and that it should end. Sitting behind their computer screens. But you also have to realize the sacrifice already installed in this war. The boys that did bother to go did it for us all. Yes even for the ones that burn the flag. The way my friends in the Iraq war put it they are even there for the ones that hate them for even being there. For all freedoms. So though I send good thoughts his way for his family. We are not done over there and I do not care how the media tries to paint it. We will be home soon enough. So what then? Just be involved in another place like Iran or somewhere. Its called the "American Soldier" and they do it for us all. Sorry, I just had too many Vietnam buddies. Not me that was in, just great friend's I have made from that war. Peace. If you wanna know, ask stillery. (ok I do not remember his handle all the way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmanc4 Posted July 20, 2008 CID Share Posted July 20, 2008 Lets let the generals decide when and where we go militarily. There will always be these types of disturbing stories, that doesn't belittle them, but just like anything else, history decides our fate, not today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdawnaz Posted July 20, 2008 CID Share Posted July 20, 2008 tstillery... yes i have many friends that were in vietnam...and the things they had to do was way worse...and when they got home they were told that they weren't veterans cuz it wasn't a war it was a "conflict"...and they were shunned til recently...now they sit proud and respected next to there buddies at the VFW from wwII, korea, desert storm, and now these vets as they come home from iraq...and they r haled for their service...but the damge to their minds...whoa...i don't have one friend that was there that isn't still in therapy...my best friend (my oldest son is named after him cuz he was my personal hero) died after he came home because there was no help for him when he got back and he was such a sweet man he couldn't live with the memories of what he'd done over there...he could find no support...no relief...so he took his own life...no he wasn't a puss...he just couldn't live knowing what he'd done to those so innocent...some will know what i'm talking about...these boys were made to do things that had never been required in any previous war and never since...iraq may come close tho...but not quite from what i know...and we won't really know til it's all over cuz they really can't talk about it in detail... so yeh it happens...they r still heros Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coknuck Posted July 20, 2008 CID Share Posted July 20, 2008 I just thought I would throw this in because I'm proud of my family. Dennis is my Cousin and we were raised a couple blocks apart. Richard his son and my name sake are in this story. It Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlewis23 Posted July 20, 2008 CID Share Posted July 20, 2008 First off we should have never left Vietnam. We won all the battles, politics fucked up, the buckled under all the pressure from russia fucking us left and right. But we got them back in Afghanistan. Leaving iraq would be the worst thing you could do now. We are winning in every way. Most of the country is secure and safe, the last battle front is in the north and is real close to beaning cleaned out and safe just like the rest of the country. The iraqi army is being trained and will be fully ready to go by the middle of next year. And most of the political benchmarks have been met. But of course you will never hear this on any liberal news because they don't care about america. We are winning and the war in iraq is coming to a end the right way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MttFrog13 Posted July 21, 2008 CID Share Posted July 21, 2008 the reason we should leave iraq isn't cus of things like this, it isn't because of the condition we left their country, it isn't even becuase we shouldn't be in iraq in the first place. The reason we should leave iraq is because both the government and the people want us out. the Iraq prime minister was quoted saying he wants the us out. Of course the people want us out. As long as we are still in there we are only making the situation worse and helping to spawn more terrorists by killing the parents and aunts and uncles of children who will grow to hate the us. What we need to do if anything is reinforce our boys in Afghanistan and find osama bin laden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjageek Posted July 22, 2008 Author CID Share Posted July 22, 2008 My thoughts about nam being worse than iraq. With all due respect that is just something we will never know. Many things going on there Im sure we don't know about. As with vietnam, many soldiers from iraq are comming home broken men and women. To many. As with vietnam and Iraq. I continue to ask why are we even there? Our dad's and mom's and kids are dying for what?? Someone made the point its there job.I am sorry but they are not doing there job. They are forced into a situwaytion that bush forced. They are not dying for amercia's freedom, for our way of life, defeding our soil. They are dying for the people of iraq. What benifit do american's get. NOTHING. A horrible recession, oil prices through the roof. Poor People are getting Poorer. This war is solving NOTHING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommie gorman Posted July 22, 2008 CID Share Posted July 22, 2008 None of the wars that we fought in were our wars really. Mostly we stuck our nose in. Ok so we supplied the UK and pissed hitler off soe he bombed a few of our ships, so we busted his ass for it. And then That T'd off Japan, so they busted up Pearl Harbor, so we messed up their faces too. But as to the rest of the skirmeshes we decided to help pretty much, And if you look back if others had not been watching our backs where would we be? Its called do for others.And what makes us what we are pretty much, never afraid of a scrap. Or to get our pretty hands dirty. We are unique as any country goes. Its just what we do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlewis23 Posted July 22, 2008 CID Share Posted July 22, 2008 None of the wars that we fought in were our wars really. Mostly we stuck our nose in. Ok so we supplied the UK and pissed hitler off soe he bombed a few of our ships, so we busted his ass for it. And then That T'd off Japan, so they busted up Pearl Harbor, so we messed up their faces too. But as to the rest of the skirmeshes we decided to help pretty much, And if you look back if others had not been watching our backs where would we be? Its called do for others.And what makes us what we are pretty much, never afraid of a scrap. Or to get our pretty hands dirty. We are unique as any country goes. Its just what we do. Thats not what pissed off Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coknuck Posted July 22, 2008 CID Share Posted July 22, 2008 Thats not what pissed off Japan. We humiliated Japan and they had no other recourse. We wanted them to do something so we could get into the war on a grand scale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommie gorman Posted July 22, 2008 CID Share Posted July 22, 2008 Well it made a good story. The version they did not put out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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