“You just can’t get the hero out of you, can you?” she said.
Pfc. Dwyer, 26, is the U.S. Army medic who became a symbol of the war in Iraq after USA Today printed a front-page picture showing him carrying a wounded Iraqi child from the scene of a firefight.
He returned to the States 10 days ago and arrived late Saturday at his parents’ house at Deercroft, near the Scotland County town of Wagram. His parents, Patrick and Maureen Dwyer, threw the reception for him.
The family has strong ties to Moore County. Patrick Dwyer is security manager at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. Joseph formerly worked as a patient transporter for the hospital. His wife, Matina, is a former Robbins resident.
When their son’s photo first appeared, the Dwyers were immediately inundated with calls from the news media. The picture was first published in The Army Times and was quickly picked up by news organizations nationwide.
“It was just a kid,” Dwyer told reporter Robert Hodierne of The Army Times. “He wasn’t an enemy. This is what I signed up to do, to help people.”
Tuesday in Deercroft, Dwyer was still wearing the his government-issue glasses, but he looked relaxed in a golf shirt and shorts as he hugged friends and family. He greeted all comers with his wife at his side.
Dwyer is still uncomfortable about being famous. He emphasizes that he was just one of 14 men who made up his outfit, which is part of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Asked how he feels about being a symbol, he said, “Embarrassed, I guess. There were 13 other men. Maj. [Todd] Albright was the one who really saved that kid.”
What happened that day, according to published reports, was that Dwyer’s outfit had run into several ambushes throughout the night in its position near the Euphrates River. In the morning, the unit was ambushed again and engaged in a skirmish with some Iraqis hiding in at the tree line on both sides of the road.
In between the two forces was an Iraqi family. Somehow, the boy, probably about 4, suffered a broken leg. When the dust settled, the boy’s father brought him directly to Dwyer, who sped him off to the mobile field hospital.
That’s when a photographer captured the image. Dwyer didn’t know how big it had gotten until he returned to the States, he says. He thought that maybe he was going to be in trouble with his wife, because he had told her that he was going to be stationed in Kuwait.
“I’m just glad he’s home,” she said.
Dwyer has a thick Long Island accent that comes from growing up in Mount Sinai, N.Y. He moved to Wagram six years ago, when his father retired as a New York City transit policeman.
Dwyer has three brothers, one of whom just entered the U.S. Air Force after leaving the New York City Police Department. The other two are still on the force.
Dwyer joined the Army after Sept. 11, 2001.
He’s grown very close to the men in his outfit and he says leaving them was tough. He flew out of Iraq directly from Baghdad.
“It’s like a dream,” he says. “But it’s bittersweet in a way. It’ll be great when we all get together again.”
It shouldn’t be a long wait. Dwyer is only on 30-day leave.
He left Baghdad for Kuwait, where he had to be debriefed. From there he flew to Texas, and had to spend another week being debriefed. He finally made it home Saturday, and he’s going to be staying for a week and then going to New York to finish his time off with family members there.
His father has been glad to welcome him.
“It’s super,” he said. “He was silly with joy.”
