Enlarge 2003 photo by Warren Zinn, Army Times via AP Joseph Dwyer carries Ali, an Iraqi boy, near Al Faysaliyah, Iraq, in 2003. During the first week of the war in Iraq in 2003, a Military Times photographer captured the image of Army Pfc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer as he raced through a battle zone clutching a tiny Iraqi boy named Ali. "Doc" Dwyer's concerned face appeared on the pages of newspapers across the country. Dwyer, 31, died June 28 in Pinehurst, N.C., after years of struggling with mental disorders. During that time, he spiraled into substance abuse and depression, and he found himself in trouble with the law. "Of course he was looked on as a hero here," said Capt. Floyd Thomas of the Pinehurst Police. Still, "we've been dealing with him for over a year." The day he died, Dwyer called a taxi company for a ride to the hospital, Thomas said. When the driver arrived, "they had a conversation through the door (of Dwyer's home)," Thomas said, but Dwyer would not let the driver in. The driver asked Dwyer if he should call the police. Dwyer said yes. When the police arrived, they asked him if they should break down the door. He again said yes. Thomas told The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer that bottles of prescription medicine were found near Dwyer. Dwyer served with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment as the unit headed into Baghdad at the beginning of the war. Only four of the 21 days in which the regiment pushed forward lacked gunfire, he later told Newsday. The day before Warren Zinn snapped his photo for Military Times, Dwyer's Humvee had been hit by a rocket. About 500 Iraqis were killed during those days, and Dwyer watched as Ali's family near the village of Al Faysaliyah was caught in the crossfire. He grabbed the 4-year-old from his father and sprinted with him to safety. Zinn captured the moment on his camera. The image went across the United States, and Dwyer found himself hailed as a hero. He did not see it that way. "Really, I was just one of a group of guys," he later told Military Times. "I wasn't standing out more than anyone else." According to Dwyer, he was just one of many who wanted to help after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He'd grown up in New York, and after the World Trade Center towers came crashing down, he went to see a recruiter. "I knew I had to do something," he said. Just before he left for Iraq, he got married. When he returned after three months in Iraq, he exhibited the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Like many other combat vets, he didn't seek help. In restaurants, he sat with his back to the wall. He avoided crowds. He stayed away from friends. He abused inhalants, he told Newsday. In 2005, he and his family talked with Newsday to try to help other servicemembers who might need help. He talked with the paper from a psychiatric ward at Fort Bliss in El Paso, where he was committed after his first run-in with the police. In October 2005, he thought there were Iraqis outside his window in El Paso. When he heard a noise, he started shooting. Three hours later, police enticed him to come out, and no one was injured. Dwyer promised to go to counseling. A year ago — June 26, 2007 — Dwyer had again been committed to a psychiatric ward. Thomas said police received a 911 call that Dwyer was "having mental problems relating to PTSD." "We responded and took him in," Thomas said. "He's been in and out." Military Times could not reach Dwyer's family, but his wife, Matina, told The (Pinehurst, N.C.) Pilot, "He was a very good and caring person. He was just never the same when he came back because of all the things he saw." In 2003, Dwyer was still hopeful about the future and about his place in the war. "I know that people are going to be better for it," he told Military Times. Army Times is owned by the Gannett Co., which also owns USA TODAY. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more