Veteran From Famous Photo Dies After PTSD Fight

Photo from source, Army Times

I haven't got much to add to this, other than to say it is quite sad.

[Excerpt]

Medic in famous photo dies after PTSD struggle

During the first week of the war in Iraq, a Military Times photographer captured the arresting image of Army Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer as he raced through a battle zone clutching a tiny Iraqi boy named Ali.

The photo was hailed as a portrait of the heart behind the U.S. military machine, and Doc Dwyer’s concerned face graced the pages of newspapers across the country. . .

Read more at: Army Times

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

Army Ranger Killed During 7th Tour of Duty

They're all sad. And they're all too frequent. But to have survived six tours of duty, and to even have to go again. . . Ugh. This just sucks.

[Excerpt]

Army Ranger Killed in Afghanistan -- On 7th Tour in War Zone

An Army Ranger from Ramona, Ca., was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday—on his seventh tour of duty in that country or in Iraq. Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, died Tuesday in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in a firefight when enemy forces attacked using small arms fires, according to the Pentagon. . .

Read more at: Editor & Publisher

Military Releases High Military Injury Report

Image from source, CBS News

With all the attention the Iraq War gets, and even occasionally the total number of military casualties, the number if injured soldiers often gets short shrift. The news, as you might expect, is not good.

[Excerpt]

Military Releases High Casualty Figures

The Department of Defense has released its latest American military casualty numbers for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the figures reveal non-fatal casualties that go well beyond the more than 4,000 U.S. troops who have died so far.

As of April 5, a total of 36,082 members of the U.S. military have been wounded in action and killed in Iraq, since the beginning of the war in March 2003, and in Afghanistan, where the war there began in October 2001. The 36,082 number breaks down to 4,492 deaths and 31,590 wounded. According to the same DoD "casualty" counts, an additional 38,631 U.S. military personnel have also been removed from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan for "non-hostile-related medical air transports. . ."

Read more at: CBS News

Iraq War American Military Casualties at 4,000

Photo from source, Raw Story

We knew this unfortunate number was coming. It doesn't make it any easier. Especially when the supposed mission for our soldiers is "fighting for our freedom." The Iraq War/Occupation, like Viet Nam before it, just doesn't feel like it has anything to do with our freedom. Every death is sad, and it could be legitimately argued that this war has had far fewer deaths than most others. But that fact doesn't make it any easier to take.

[Excerpt]

4000 Killed

MSNBC is reporting that the death toll for U.S. solders in Iraq has reached 4000:

Four U.S. soldiers were killed by a bomb blast in southern Baghdad late Sunday, raising the death toll for American forces since start of the war to 4,000, according to the Pentagon. . .

Read more at: Raw Story