Celebration of
an American
Hero

Being a retired 28-year veteran, I like to research U. S. Military history. This particular article caught my attention and being that 4th of July is just around the corner and the cover story is about a good friend of mine, fellow veteran, motorcyclist and Native American, I thought I would share it with you. It’s been 63 years since Marines from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Division stormed the beach of Iwo Jima, but their memory is far from forgotten.

The invasion of Iwo by Marines began February 19, 1945. The brutal 36-day battle saw 25,851 U.S. injuries with 6,825 Americans killed. The 22,000 Japanese defenders had vowed to fight to the death, and most of them succeeded in their vow.

One of these Marine who became an American hero that day was Ira Hamilton Hayes, an Akima O’odham, or Pima Indian, and became one of the five Marines, along with a Navy corpsman, immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima.

There is probably not a more tragic story than that of Ira Hayes. Ira was the son of a farming family that had struggled for years to make a living on the reservation but had very little success beyond survival. The Pima’s at one time were successful as farmers. That, however, was before the U.S. government cut their water supply and essentially created a situation where they could no longer grow enough crops to eat.

Yet when America called its men to arms, Ira answered this call and joined the U.S. Marines Corps. Ira joined for a variety reasons: he would be able to leave the reservation, eat regularly and send money home to his family to help them have a better life. Upon Ira’s departure the Tribal Chief told him to be an Honorable Warrior and to bring honor upon his people. Ira, it’s said, never failed to do this. He was a dedicated Marine, admired by his peers who fought alongside him in three major battles in the Pacific.

On February 23, 1945, at age 23, Ira Hayes committed an act that would place him in this nation’s history books and irrevocably change his life forever. Atop Mount Suribachi on the Pacific islands of Iwo Jima, a small group of Marines struggled to raise the American flag to claim victory over the Japanese occupancy.

As the flag was being raised, Ira rushed to help his comrades just as photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped what was to become one of the most famous pictures in history. Of the six men depicted in the picture, three (Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, and Michael Strank) did not survive the battle; the three survivors (John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes) became instant celebrities upon the publication of the photo.

Ira’s platoon paid a big price in the battle. Only five of the 45 survived and of his company of 250, only 27 escaped death or injury.

Ira was stunned when he was told that President Truman wanted him and the other survivors to return to the United States to join the 7th Bond Tour, to help raise money for the war efforts. Ira never considered himself a hero. He always felt the real heroes where his buddies who died during the battles.

What was supposed to be an easy tour of duty (the 7th Bond Tour) turned into the worst ordeal of Ira’s military life. He never understood why he was called an American hero, and he struggled with the adulation that was heaped on him everywhere he went. Over and over he made statements that he was not a hero and reminded everyone of the brave men who had died and deserved the honor.

This honor weighed heavily on Ira and by the time he was released from duty he was hopelessly addicted to alcohol. The Bond Tour had been a battle that had taken more of a toll on him than any he fought in the Pacific. It seemed that this nation found only one-way to honor its heroes: Buy them a drink!

After the Bond Tour, Ira went back to the reservation to escape the unwanted attention he’d been forced to bare. But people did not stop writing or coming to see “the Indian who raised the flag.” Ira’s only escape from the conflict he felt over being viewed as a hero was the bottle. Over and over he made statements like “I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about my good buddies. They were better men than me and they’re not coming back, much less back to the White House, like me.” After a ceremony where he was praised by President Eisenhower, once again for being a hero, a reporter asked Ira, “How do you like the pomp and circumstances?” Ira just hung his head and said, “I don’t.”

Sadly, for years after Ira’s release from the military service with no one to help him. (in those days you did not seek psychological services) Ira struggled with his inability to reconcile himself as being worthy of the fame he’d received. Ira never saw his military service as any more than just being a warrior.

On January 24, 1955 in Sacaton, Arizona, after a night of drinking, Ira Hamilton Hayes fell in a irrigation ditch and froze to death at the age of 32. The ditch where he died was the single source of water provided for his people by the same government he’d proudly served.

Hayes is buried in section 34 of Arlington National Cemetery.

“He was a true American Hero – Native American Hero.”

I would like to thank all our Veterans who have served past and present. My thoughts and prayers go out to our troops serving in the Middle East.

By Paul D. Fedorsak,
Marketing Director Kantor & Godwin PLLC