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Born on the Gila Indian Reservation in Arizona, a full-blooded member of the Pima nation, Hayes left school in 1942 to enlist in the Marines. Trained as a paratrooper, he was nicknamed Chief Falling Cloud. After bootcamp, Hayes was sent to the Pacific. He participated in the battle for the island of Iwo Jima, beginning on February 19, 1945, and was among the group of Marines that took Mount Suribachi four days later, on February 23February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 311 days remaining, 312 in leap years. Events 1455 Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type. 1574 The 5th hol, 1945. The raising of the American flag on the mountain by six GIs was immortalized by photographer Joe RosenthalJoe Rosenthal (born October 9, 1911) was a American photographer, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his World War II iconic portrait of American troops raising the flag on Mount Suribachi after the Battle of Iwo Jima. Rejected by the army as a photograp and became an icon of the war. Overnight, Hayes (who appears on the far left of the photograph) became a national hero, along with the two other survivors of the famous photograph, Rene GagnonRene Arthur Gagnon ( March 7, 1925 October 12, 1979) was a marine during World War II. He was photographed by Joe Rosenthal in Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Early life Gagnon was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, the only ch and John Bradley . Hayes's story drew particular attention because of his Native American background.

1 Post World-War II

After the war, Hayes attempted to lead an anonymous life. But it didn't turn out that way. "I kept getting hundreds of letters. And people would drive through the reservation, walk up to me and ask, 'Are you the Indian who raised the flag on Iwo Jima'?"

Referring to his drinking he once said: "I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all 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 the war, Hayes accumulated some fifty arrests for drunkenness.

In 1954, after a ceremony where he was lauded by President Eisenhower as a hero, a reporter rushed up to him and asked him, "How do you like the pomp & circumstances?" Hayes just hung his head and said, "I don't."

Hayes died three months later after a night of drinking. As he drank his last bottle of whiskey, he was crying and mumbling about his "good buddies." Hayes was 32.

He was buried in Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, is an American military cemetery established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Robert E. Lee's home. It is situated directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D. next to the present. The tragic story of his life was immortalized in a song, "The Ballad of Ira Hayes," by Peter LaFarge and performed by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

Well, they battled up Iwo Jima hill -- two hundred and fifty men,

But only twenty-seven lived -- to walk back down again;

When the fight was over -- and Old Glory raised

Among the men who held it high was the Indian -- Ira Hayes.