Ira Hayes Quotes

Ira Hamilton Hayes was born in Sacaton, Arizona, USA. He 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. He was an enrolled member of the Gila River Pima Indian Reservation located in the Pinal and Maricopa counties in Arizona. He fought in the Bougainville and Iwo Jima campaigns in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. 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. In 1949, he portrayed himself raising the flag in the motion picture movie, Sands of Iwo Jima. In 2006, he was portrayed by Adam Beach in the World War II movie Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood.