On May 9, a flag-raising by Pfc. On March 14, another American flag was officially raised up a flagpole by two Marines under the orders of Lieutenant General Holland Smith during a ceremony at the V Amphibious Corps command post on the other side of Mount Suribachi where the 3rd Marine Division troops were located to signal the Marines occupied Iwo Jima. 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Not the whiskey drinkin’ Indian Rene Gagnon the Second Battalion's runner (messenger) for E Company was ordered to take "walkie-talkie" batteries and the replacement flag up the mountain, and return the first flag to the battalion adjutant down below.[14]. He had been drinking and playing cards on the reservation with his friends and brothers Vernon and Kenneth. Hayes, Pfc. But we Pimas are not prone to tooting our own horns. Rene Gagnon from Manchester, New Hampshire, a descendant of French Canadian parents. Seventh-War-Loan-Drive-Poster (May 11–July 4, 1945). A reporter there approached Hayes and asked him, "How do you like the pomp and circumstance?" His courage, initiative, and loyal devotion to duty continually set an example for all who served with him, and his conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. [6] The Hayes children were: Ira (1923–1955), Harold (1924–1925), Arlene (1926–1929), Leonard (1927–1952), Vernon (1929–1958), and Kenneth (1931–2019). The Pinal County coroner concluded that Hayes's death was caused by exposure and alcohol poisoning. He died at the age of 32. Strank and Cpl. But when he did speak it was of was his determination to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. He was just like his father. The same day, he attended the service for the American troops buried at the 5th Marine Division Cemetery. After finding a Japanese steel pipe and attaching the flag to it, the flagstaff was taken to the highest place on the crater. He was the eldest of six children born to Nancy Hamilton (1901–1972) and Joseph Hayes (1887–1978). At about 10:30 a.m., Lt. Schrier, Platoon Sergeant Ernest Thomas, Sergeant Henry Hansen, and Corporal Charles Lindberg raised the flag. Ira is survived by his1st wife The Pinal County coroner concluded that Hayes's death was caused by exposure and alcohol poisoning. Author: Xephrail CC BY-SA 3.0, First and foremost, when deciding to write the story of Ira Hayes, one couldn’t find a better way to do it than to begin by quoting Johnny Cash, a brilliant soul who managed to sum up a story so poignantly: “The Indian who raised the flag on Iwo Jima.”. You're signed out. [32] At the funeral, Rene Gagnon (incorrectly thought to be a flag raiser until 2019, when it was correctly identified as Harold Keller) said of him: "Let's say he had a little dream in his heart that someday the Indian would be like the white man — be able to walk all over the United States."[33]. Not just that, he volunteered to be a “paramarine,” a paratrooper. [7] The Hayes children attended grade school in Sacaton and high school at the Phoenix Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona. He died on January 24, 1955 in Bapchule, Arizona. Shopping. Sousley was killed on March 21. As for the story of the heroic Marine, his ended up being one of the saddest stories. Furthermore, they saw it as the best possible rallying spot from where they could advance their invasion of Japan’s mainland. Block's family, especially his mother, was grateful to Hayes. The Marine interviewer then told Hayes that a list of the names of the six flag-raisers in the photo were already released publicly; and besides Block and Hansen were both killed in action (during the Marine Corps investigation in 1946, the lieutenant colonel denied Hayes ever mentioned Block's name to him).[23]. Hayes met President Dwight D. Eisenhower who lauded him as a hero. And when the fight was over, And when Old Glory raised He served on occupation duty in Japan with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines from September 22 to October 26, 1945. He arrived on April 7, and was questioned by a lieutenant colonel at Marine Corps public information office concerning the identities of the flag raisers in the Rosenthal photo. He was called into action and along with the silver “jump wings” attached to his uniform was shipped to the South Pacific in Noumea, New Caledonia, as a fully trained parachutist and distinguished member of the Marine Corps. Thomas was killed on Iwo Jima on March 3 and Sgt. "I kept getting hundreds of letters. Tap to unmute. Hayes, and Pfc. American Legion, Ira Hayes Post 84, Sacaton, Arizona. [30] The 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, suggests that Hayes suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An altercation ensued between Hayes and a Pima Indian named Henry Setoyant, and all left except Hayes and Setoyant. Keller, which was then stabilized by three guy-ropes because of the high winds on top. The war hero Ira Hayes died at the age of 32. He had been drinking with several others, which led to the official report that the death was related to the alcohol consumed, but Hayes' brothers were convinced that fellow Pima Henry Setoyant had something to do with Hayes' death. Ira Hayes: Life, Death, and Legacy Ira Hayes is an iconic American figure that, for a time, gripped the attention of the American people. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed ), memorial page for Ira Hayes (14 Dec 1899–27 Mar 1978), Find a Grave Memorial no. Ira Hayes appeared as himself in the 1949 John Wayne film, Sands of Iwo Jima. He was shy and never talked to us girls” and his family would describe him as “quiet, and somewhat distant.” He was a type of person who seemed to be immersed deep in his own thoughts, one who wouldn’t speak unless he is spoken to. Easy Company, Second Battalion, 28th Marines, landed on the southern beach near Mount Suribachi off of USS Talladega after transferring from USS Missoula.[3]. The same day, on February 23, 1945, six of them survived the uphill stretch and placed the flag in the manner as it was captured by Rosenthal, the war photographer who by only recording a tiny fraction of a second, immortalized the men. In the song, "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", his death is described as dying an indigent death of being drunk and drowning in 2 inches of water in a ditch. He was 19 years old and ready to prove his worth. The poet Ai dedicates her poem "I Can't Get Started" to Hayes. US Marine Crops, Ira Hayes Died on 24 January 1955 On January 24, 1955, on the morning, Ira Hayes found dead near on a pavement near his home in Arizona. But, I can't take them calling me a hero. Previous to his death, he had been observed drinking and playing cards at a bar on the local reservation with his brothers Vernon and Kenneth along with a number of friends. And people would drive through the reservation, walk up to me and ask, 'Are you the Indian who raised the flag on Iwo Jima? [3] Pfc. Block were killed on Iwo Jima on March 1, and Pfc. Sgt. From then on he was shifted back and forth from the Guadalcanal and San Diego in what were two major battles for him and his fellow soldiers that lasted for 11 months up until February 19, 1945, when every surviving man deemed ready for battle was dropped on the southern side of Iwo Jima. [23] Hayes and Bradley were ordered to report to Marine Corps headquarters; After the war, the Marine Corps determined that Hansen (1947), Bradley (2016), and Gagnon (2019) were not second flag-raisers. Regardless of danger of personal fatigue he worked tirelessly, and his efforts greatly aided his unit in accomplishing its assigned missions. In 1964, Cash took the song to number 3 on the Billboard country music chart.[39]. Gagnon named Marines Michael Strank (KIA), Henry Hansen (KIA), Franklin Sousley (KIA), Ira Hayes, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and himself. He was instrumental in having the mistaken second flag-raiser controversy resolved by the Marine Corps in January 1947. That's a commitment of this commandant ... And that's a personal commitment of this Marine. Here is all you want to know, and more! The coroner found his death to be an accident contributed to by alcohol. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. Ira Hayes was born in Sacaton, Arizona, a town in the Gila River Indian Community in Pinal County. The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. After Russell's death in August 1940 on board a German U-boat en route to Ireland, Hayes became chief of staff. The second flag was raised by Sgt. Hayes agreed with all the names including his own except he said that the man identified as Sgt. The tour began on May 11 in New York City. Hayes was ordered to report to the 28th Marines in Hawaii. On February 21, 1946, Hayes was awarded a Navy Commendation from the Marine Corps for meritorious service in combat during World War II. When confronted and an ordinary human stands up, rises against the odds and faces the challenge, this ordinary man becomes a hero. Corporal Hayes was found dead from alcohol and exposure on January 24, 1955, just shy of the 10-year anniversary of the photo that changed his life forever. Hayes was depicted on the Iwo Jima Memorial as one of six men raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. However, his brother Kenneth, a Korean War It was estimated more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were present but concealed, placed out of sight in an underground network of pits and tunnels dug beneath the highest peak on the island, Mount Suribachi. On February 2, 1955, Hayes was buried in Section 34, Grave 479A at Arlington National Cemetery . [30] Hayes was portrayed by Adam Beach in the 2006 movie Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood. In 1949, Hayes appeared briefly as himself in the film Sands of Iwo Jima, starring John Wayne. There are no iconic photographs to capture his sad, untimely death. [16] Seeing the raising of the national colors immediately caused loud cheering from the Marines, sailors, and Coast Guardsmen on the beach below and from the men on the ships docked at the beach. On November 30, he graduated from the Parachute Training School and received his silver "jump wings". Jack recounted at a breakfast meeting that, sometime after the war, Ira hitchhiked across the country to visit him at his home farm in Mitchell, South Dakota. His disquiet about his unwanted fame and his subsequent post-war problems were first recounted in detail by the author William Bradford Huie in "The Outsider", published in 1959 as part of his collection Wolf Whistle and Other Stories. But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again. Died on: January 24, 1955. place of death: Bapchule, Arizona, United States. This page was last edited on 29 March 2021, at 19:46. He was just 32 years old. Born on January 12, 1923, to a World War I veteran and a Presbyterian school teacher in Sacaton, Arizona, the capital and the very heart of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Ira Hayes was the oldest of six children. Hayes hung his head and said, "I don't."[29]. Easy Company had many casualties, Hayes was one of five Marines remaining from his original platoon of forty-five men including their corpsmen. Ira arrived while Jack was away from the farm and Jack's mother would not allow Ira to wait at the house and made him wait at the end of the driveway by the road. [7], Ira was remembered by his family and friends as being a shy and sensitive child. Ira Hayes also became a well-known war symbol, often featured in films. Hayes’s funeral was held in the C. H. Cook Memorial Church in Sacaton, Arizona Author: Marine 69-71 CC BY-SA 4.0. An altercation ensued between Hayes and a Pima Indian named Henry Setoyant, and all left except Hayes and Setoyant. In 1932, Ira and his family were forced out of their home–“The white man’s greed,” sang Johnny Cash–and relocated 12 miles northwest to Bapchule, where Ira continued his education at the Phoenix Indian School. Franklin Sousley to go with him up Suribachi with supplies (or communication wire). The Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington, Virginia, was dedicated on November 10, 1954. Marine Corps League, Ira Hayes Detachment 2, Phoenix, Arizona. Ira had the characteristic of not wanting to talk. She then contacted Texas Congressman Milton West about Hayes' letter which started a Marine Corps investigation in December.[23]. 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