Studying World War 2: Ira Hayes, USMC

For our final story this year in our series at SVDP-ALC called "Studying World War ll," we will take note of the life and tragic death of a heroic US Marine named Ira Hayes. He was one of the men who fought their way up Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima and raised the American flag there. This brought him international fame. But Ira Hayes never wanted that fame. Instead, he always remembered his friends and comrades in the Marine Corps who died on Iwo Jima. Over 5000 US Marines died there -- the greatest loss of Marines in any battle in their history. But the Marines took Iwo Jima and killed or captured all of the 20,000 Japanese combatants on the island. After the photo of the flag raising made him and four other Marines and a US Navy Corpsman famous, Ira met President Truman and even appeared briefly (as himself) in the John Wayne film "The Sands of Iwo Jima."

Ira Hayes participated in these public appearances mainly to help sell war bonds or to benefit the US government and military, but always he felt severe emotional pain over what he experienced in the war and the loss of his friends in combat.

After the war Corporal Ira Hayes suffered from alcoholism and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) or what was then called "battle fatigue." He was arrested many times for public drunkenness. Because he was a Native American (Pima), many bigots made racial slurs against him. (Incidently, many American Indians served proudly and honorably in the US Marine Corps in WW2, some as "code talkers" speaking in their native Indian language to fool the Japanese.)

Ira Hayes never adjusted well to life after the war and died as a result of alcoholism and PTSD. One day he was discovered face down in a muddy ditch on a farm near his home on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. Allegedly, he had been drinking heavily the night before and collapsed and died of exposure to the outdoor elements. He was 32 years old.

Ira Hayes -- like the other Marines he served with -- were true American heroes and deserve the admiration of our country. Ira's story is so tragic but important too. It teaches us about the problems of PTSD and the mental harm war and other traumas (like hurricanes) can cause. It shows us that alcoholism is a disease which requires proper medical treatment. And lastly, it shows us how evil and unjust prejudice is -- when even a true American hero could be shunned and insulted, despite his profound patriotist and self-sacrifice, simply because he was an American Indian or Native American. We should always remember this proud Marine when we study World War ll. Ira Hayes was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

(The photos are in the public domain from Wikimedia Commons of Iwo Jima and Ira Hayes in his USMC uniform. The photo of the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi is, of course, the famous photo by Joe Rosenthal which is used here under the "Fair Use" doctrine for educational and non-profit purposes -- from Wikipedia.com. In Rosenthal's photo, Ira Hayes is the Marine at the far left.)

--Adrian