Ira Hayes
| Ira Hayes | |
|---|---|
Marine Corps recruit photo of Hayes in 1942
|
|
| Birth name | Ira Hamilton Hayes |
| Nickname(s) | "Chief Falling Cloud", "Chief" |
| Born |
January 12, 1923 Sacaton, Arizona, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 1955 (aged 32) Bapchule, Arizona, U.S. |
| Buried at | Section 34, Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Marine Corps
|
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank |
 Corporal
|
| Unit |
|
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
Ira Hamilton Hayes (January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) was a Pima Native American and a United States Marine who was one of the six flag raisers immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II. Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Pima Indian Reservation (1859) located in the Pinal and Maricopa counties in Arizona. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on August 26, 1942 and, after recruit training, volunteered to become a Paramarine. He fought in the Bougainville and Iwo Jima campaigns in the Pacific Theatre of Operations.
On February 23, 1945, he helped to raise an American flag over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, an event photographed by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. Hayes and the other five flag-raisers became national heroes as a result. In 1946, he was instrumental in revealing the true identity of one of the other pictured Marines, who was killed in action on Iwo Jima. However, Hayes was never comfortable with his fame, and after his service in the Marine Corps, he descended into alcoholism. He died of exposure to cold and alcohol poisoning after a night of drinking on January 23–24, 1955. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on February 2, 1955.
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