i am part cree indian and i have herd stories of Ira Hayes. i know he raised the flag on Iwashima in world war two. i would apriciate it if you guys have any infomation on him. or whats your oppinion of him. thank you its greatly appriciated.
2007-03-19 09:57:28 · 6 answers · asked by steph 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
There is a biography on the wikipedia website. He was a great hero of WW2 but also had a drinking problem, there is a fantastic song about him The Ballad of Ira Hayes, you should check out the Johnny Cash version.
2007-03-19 10:02:36 · answer #1 · answered by JK 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Indeed Ira Hayes was chosen to return home with two others, to raise war bonds , following the taking of Iwo Jima. Ira felt like a duck out of water because of all the attention he got along the way, in raising war bonds. He also felt a great deal of guilt being home while his buddies were somewhere in the Pacific planning their next amphibious assault.
Ira turned to alcohol as a way to drown his sorrows. He, like so many American natives were pre-disposed to alcohol, so he became an alcoholic. This was Ira Hayse's way of punishing himself for surviving the war, when so many of his buddies died in combat. Of the six men involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima, three died there, before victory was declared.
Ira died in 1955 at the age of 32. Sadly, he was drunk at the time of his death.
Ira's biggest moment in life was the flag raising on Iwo Jima ! Sadly, itt was also his downfall !
2007-03-19 10:43:36 · answer #2 · answered by briang731/ bvincent 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The island was Iwo Jima. Please read the book by James Bradley called, "Flags Of Our Fathers." It is the best book I have read about Iwo Jima. The Authors Grandfather was also one of the flag raisers.. Ira never thought of himself as a hero and he turned to alcohol and died shortly after the war
2007-03-19 10:04:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He was a good man but like all good men war killed him, from the inside out. Full blood Pima died at age 32 from booze
2007-03-19 10:06:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
go get the book flags of our fathers by james bradley and it has a section all about ira from child hood til he died
2007-03-19 14:56:07 · answer #5 · answered by lance h 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a (small) part Iroquois, I think that he got screwed by the government. He died an alcoholic, and is almost forgotten.
2007-03-19 10:02:52 · answer #6 · answered by Beau R 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋