The man was cheated twice. Instead of being hailed as a Hero for clearing people out of the area, getting his 15 minutes of fame and any spinoffs that might have led to in terms of employment....
the media robbed him of that.
Worse yet, they painted him as a terrorist, making someone who had done something great into an evil person to be loathed.
No wonder he had health problems, between feeling miserable for being screwed over after doing the right thing, no doubt he had the burden of being reviled for something he was not. A double whammy that would keep you from sleeping well at night.