The Reluctant Hero

Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian who fought as a Marine in World War II. He is one of the Marines shown in the famous flag raising at Iwo Jima, An ex-marine told me that what happened to Ira Hayes is now part of Marine Corp. history taught to new recruits. He said that Ira was just one of them that were arbitrarily picked to be in the picture.

I first became aware of the story of Ira Hayes when I saw the movie based on his life starring Tony Curtis. Unlikely casting, I thought, since Tony Curtis hardly looks like an Indian but I think he did a credible job of it.

Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian born in Sacaton, Arizona on January 12, 1923. The family moved a few years later to Bapchule. Both were within the boundaries of the Gila River Indian Reservation located in south central Arizona. After two years of high school he quit and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in May and June of 1942, and then went to work as a carpenter.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps reserve in August of 1942. After he finished boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at San Diego, he was assigned to the Parachute Training School at Camp Gillespie, Marine Corps Base, San Diego. In December he joined Company B. 3d Parachute Battalion at Camp Elliot, California.

Hayes, after 11 months overseas and two campaigns were ordered back to the United States. The parachute units were disbanded and Hayes was assigned to Company E at Camp Pendleton, California.

Hayes was in Iwo Jima on D-Day, February 19, 1945, and fought there until March 26.
He was one of the marines in the flag raising picture that became an icon of the war.

Ira Hayes played himself in the John Wayne film “Sands of Iwo Jima.” Lee Marvin played him in a 1960 telefilm “The American.” Tony Curtis played him in the film the outsider. Adam Beach played him in 2006 movie “Flags of our Fathers.”

A normal life was not to be for Ira. He was proud of his Marine Corp. service but was embarrassed by being a hero. He was bothered by people coming to the reservation and asking him about Iwo Jima. He felt bad about his friends who were killed in the war. A reporter asked him how he liked the pomp and ceremony and he said that he didn’t. Because he was Indian he was expected to be an Indian hero and he didn’t feel up to representing his people. He took to drinking and died a sad and lonely death from alcohol and exposure.

Ira Hamilton Hayes (January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) was a Pima Native American and an American Marine who was one of the six men immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II.^[1][2] Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, Arizona, and enlisted in the Marine Forces Reserve on August 24, 1942. He trained as a Paramarine and saw action in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. On February 19, 1945, Hayes participated in the landing at Iwo Jima and fought in the subsequent battle for the island. On February 23, Hayes, together with fellow Marines Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, and Mike Strank, and Navy Corpsman John Bradley, raised the American flag over Mount Suribachi, an event photographed by Joe Rosenthal.
As a result of Rosenthal's photograph, Hayes and the others became national heroes in the United States. He was instrumental in confirming the identity of one of his fellow Marines in the photograph, Harlon Block. Hayes was never comfortable with his new-found fame, however, and after his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps he descended into alcoholism. He died of exposure and alcohol poisoning on January 24, 1955 after a night of drinking, and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Hayes was often commemorated in art and film, both before and after his death. He is depicted in the Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, based on the famous photograph, and he portrayed himself in the 1949 film Sands of Iwo Jima. His tragic story was the subject of the 1961 film The Outsider, and inspired Peter La Farge's song "The Ballad of Ira Hayes". He was also depicted in the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers.