Ira_Hayes

IRA HAYES: A NOBLE WARRIOR The term hero according to Webster’s is “any person esp. a man, admired for courage, nobility, or exploits, esp. in war.” That word will cause Ira Hayes to face a greater conflict than any battle that he fought during the war. He now had to fight an internal war with his conscience where the only escape would be the bottle. Ira Hayes never felt that he was a hero. The men that he left on that volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific were the heroes, he was just lucky to survive. As with most men who are declared heroes, he just felt that he had done his duty and answered the call of a nation to be a noble warrior. “At Sacaton, Arizona on January 12, 1923, Joe and Nancy Hayes were the parent of a newborn son. Another Pima Indian had been brought into the world to carry on the proud traditions of his Tribe. They named him Ira Hamilton Hayes.”[1] Ira was the oldest of four sons. His father was a farmer and “Ira’s mother was a strong dominating women who was the force of for her family. She placed education high on her list of priorities, always visiting Ira’s school to check on his progress.”[2] Racial prejudice was constants reminder to Ira that he would never be treated as an equal. “In 1940, when he was a teenager, Ira was sent to Phoenix Indian School, a government – run boarding school for Native American.”[3] Ira was a shy boy and felt out of place. Ira was very good at sports such as baseball and football, but his shyness kept him in the back ground. The boarding school that Ira attended did not let the students go home during the year and Ira was extremely lonely and at night would write letter back home to his parents and brothers. While at school Ira was an average student. “It was a quiet, lazy Sunday morning. The date was December 7, 1941. The American people went about their routines in a normal fashion. Only several weeks remained until Christmas and most families were preparing for the holiday season. Suddenly, a news bulletin brought horrifying report that the Japanese has attacked our naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands.” [4] Ira, like most of the boys at school wanted to fight and enlist in the military. At the age of nineteen, Ira enlisted into the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve. Prior to Ira leaving for basic training in San Diego, his parents had a farewell dinner for him. They invited Tribal elders, and church leaders. “Each guest spoke to the young man about honor, loyalty, his people and family. They told him never to dishonor his Tribe.”[5] Ira was off to boot camp, where he and many other young Marines would be trained for the battles that lied ahead. The Drill Instructors would engage in harassment of the new recruits. This was to break the man down and rebuild him as a United States Marine. Ira drew particular attention because he was an Indian. They would ask him if he brought his bow and arrow or his tomahawk. Finally he was given the nickname “Chief” and it stuck with him for the rest of his time in the Marine Corps. After graduating from “boot camp”, Ira Hayes would have to decide how he would serve in the Marine Corps. “The Parachute unit’s origins started in 1927, when a dozen Marines jumped from a transport plane near Washington D. C. At that time, not much attention was given to the idea and it was shelved. It was not until 1940 that Maj. General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the Division of Plans and Policies to formulate a mission for the utilization of Parachute troops.”[6] The Parachute Battalion exploits on Guadalcanal became legendary. Ira knew this is where he wanted to be. “The Qualifications were extremely rigid. The applicants were required to be: a. Unmarried, b. athletically inclined, c. above average intelligence, d. 18 – 32 years of age, e. no physical or mental handicaps.”[7] They would also receive a pay bonus, $ 50 for enlisted and $100 for officers. “In the fall of 1942, Ira was assigned to the Thirty – ninth Parachute Troops Training Class at Camp Gillespie, Marine Corps Base, California the major facility on the west coast for training Paratroopers.”[8] School was six weeks long and was broken into three phases: basic map reading, demolition, swimming and weapons training, then packing parachutes, and finally six jumps, one being at night. Ira graduated and was shipped to the Pacific. Ira felt that he had found a place where he belonged. He had found a “family” where he was treated with respect and dignity regardless of his ethnicity. Ira saw action on Bougainville, where he escaped death several times. At Christmas he wrote a letter to his mother tell her that he was alright and lucky to be alive. It was soon after the battle on Bougainville that the Marine Corps decided to terminate the Paratrooper Battalion. One to save money, they would not have to pay the bonus and secondly the island hopping campaign of the Pacific did not lean itself to the specialty of the Paratroopers. This decision by the Marine Corps would send Ira Hayes on a crash course with destiny. After the paratrooper’s engagement on Bougainville, they returned to Guadalcanal enroute back to Camp Pendleton. Ira and the rest were granted thirty day of leave before they would be re-assigned to different Marine Divisions. Ira head back to Arizona to visit his family. “The Pima Paratrooper traveled by bus to Phoenix to greet his parents and brothers, Kenneth and Vernon. His other brother Leonard was gone, having enlisted in the Army. Ira had been overseas for a year and his meeting with them was an emotional one. To Nancy Hayes, her son appeared “older.” He looked different. And he was different. Ira Hayes had changed. Having witnessed the deaths of so many of his “dear buddies” he had undergone a metamorphosis. He would not forget them.”[9] The lost of his friends had a profound effect of him, and now he would be losing the rest to re-assignment. Ira Hayes returned to Camp Pendleton and “when the duty roster was posted, Ira was placed in Company E, Second Battalion, Twenty – eight Marine Regiment, as a BAR man (Browning Automatic Rifleman).”[10] On August 12, 1944, Ira’s company left San Diego, heading to Camp Tarawa on the big island of Hawaii. Here in paradise the Twenty-eighth trained for their next mission. “They hiked across the rugged lava fields of the Mauna Kea and the Mauna Loa. They drilled in small unit tactics, and ran field problems. They qualified with every weapon in individual and crew served weapons, and hiked some more.”[11] After months of training on February 19, 1945, the Joint Amphibious Force arrived of the coast of Iwo Jima. The day started out just like the last days of the journey, breakfast, coffee, and small talk. But the Marines of the Twenty – eighth knew this day would soon be different. Ira and his squad lined up to go over the gunwale to load into the vessel below. With in an hour they would be on the beach of that volcanic island. Ira’s date with destiny was approaching fast. As the Marine began the assault on the beaches of Iwo Jima, “the primary challenge was movement in the shifting volcanic ash. Marines struggled mightily to get up the steep slopes.”[12] Even after the heavy bombardment of the Navy and the Air Force the enemy was dig in. The Japanese have series of tunnels that run under the island, causing difficulties for the Marines. The enemy would go down one hole and pop up behind the Marine lines. Moving of the beaches was slow and deadly. By the end of the first day Mount Suribachi had been isolated from the rest of the island, and “the 4th and 5th Divisions controlled only a mile and a half of the island.”[13] “For most of the young boys, it had not fully sunk in yet that the defenders were not on Iwo, they were in Iwo, prowling the sixteen miles of catacombs.”[14] “On the eastern boarder of Suribachi, situated in a foxhole, was Ira Hayes. The Pima Indian had endured all the terror of combat. Although afraid he had done his duty and did not falter. Tomorrow, with the seizure of this valuable position, he and his friends could get some well – deserved rest. But unknown to him, events were taking shape that would leave and everlasting impact on him.”[15] On February 23, 1945, Suribachi was taken and the first flag was raised. It was a small flag, but it was seen by the Marines on the beach and the Sailors on the vessel at sea. The Marines who raised that first flag were: Hank Hansen, Boots Thomas, Harold Schrier, Louis Charlo, Jim Michels, and Chuck Lindberg. “The flagraising on Suribachi had given the press corps a convenient symbol of a happy ending.” [16] The flagraising that was sent to the world was not the original photo taken by a Marine Corps photographer, but the photo taken by Joseph Rosenthal. It was with that photo that Ira Hayes’ fate was sealed. The shy Pima Indian from Arizona will become a national celebrity. Joseph Rosenthal’s photo consisted of the following men: Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley, Harlon Block, Mike Strank, and Rene Gagnon. As the controversy over the picture play out, the twelve men were ordered back to the states as heroes. The battle for the island raged on. “On March 14, Admiral Nimitz proclaimed Iwo Jima conquered and that all powers of government of the Japanese Empire in these islands are hereby suspended. Two days later Nimitz declared Iwo officially secured, and that all organized Japanese resistance had ended.”[17] Unfortunately only three of the twelve made it off the island alive, John Bradley, Rene Gagnon and Ira Hayes. The men were transferred of the island, heading to Hawaii. “On April 15, 1945, a reluctant Ira Hayes boarded a plane in Hilo Hawaii, for his trip to the United States. He landed in Washington D. C. on the nineteenth and transferred to Company C, First Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters Marine Corps.”[18] Ira was miserable on the bond tour. This shy Indian boy was thrust into the lime light and he was unable to cope with the situation. Finally, Ira found solace in the bottle. The three were whisked from town to town, parade to parade. “In Rochester, New York, Hayes met the mothers of the dead Marines: Sousley, Strank, and Hansen. It was a sad meeting.”[19] Believe me, he wrote to his family, we all cried.”[20] Ira regarded these lost Marines as if they were his brothers. He felt the same as if it was Kenneth, Vernon or Leonard who had died on that black sand island. During one of his bond tour trip, Ira asked if he would be able to stop in Phoenix to visit his mother. His request was denied. A friend, on Ira’s behave ask Brig General Robert Denig, the Director of the Marine Corps Division of Public Information, to allow Ira to visit his mother in Phoenix. His leave was granted and Ira went home. “That evening, Ira Hayes boarded a plane that would take him to the west coast. The bond tour had been an agonizing experience for him, he was extremely shy. The hero worship, perpetuated by the media, would seal his doom.”[21] On May 28, 1945, Ira Hayes arrived in Hawaii, and rejoined Easy Company. The company was preparing for their biggest battle, a full invasion of the Island of Japan. The invasion never came, the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ending World War II. “Ira boarded a ship from Japan, after a month with the occupational forces, on October 25, to return home. It was his eleventh and last military transport. He landed at San Francisco on November 9 and was discharged from active duty at San Diego on December 1, 1945. Just turned twenty –two, he had spent thirty – nine months of his life as a Marine, twenty – three of them in three overseas tours.”[22] Ira returned to the Pima reservation and lived with his parents. He helped he helped his father in the fields. Ira also took menial jobs on the reservation. Finally he bought a home of his own. It was an old barracks that was used to house Japanese – Americans during the war. Tourist would show up on the reservation looking for the Indian that raises the flag. Ira did not want to speak about the flagraising and shied away for the attention. “Ira turned again to the anesthetizing relief that he had sought during the Bond Tour.”[23] Being a hero had made it easy for Ira to get alcohol. Indians were not allowed to enter the local taverns, but tourists were always offering to buy Ira a drink, and listen to his recollections of the flagraising. Ira’s drinking became worse and he would sleep in alleys, railroad tracks, and his personality would become mean. He would get into fights with others over their pursuit of his stories on Iwo Jima. Ira needed to reconcile with his demons. So one night instead of heading to Phoenix, Ira headed south, to Texas. Ira was looking for the parents of Harlon Block. Harlon Block was misidentified in the flag-raising photo. Ira spoke with Harlon’s father about what he and his son went through on the island. Mr. Block understood that Harlon and Ira were good friends and Harlon’s death effect Ira every day of his life. In 1947, Republic Pictures began production on the movie The Sand of Iwo Jima starring John Wayne. Republic Pictures wanted the three remaining flag raiser in the movie to once again raise the flag on Mount Suribachi. As the production company contacted Ira, Rene and John, they had told the others had already sign on to the project, even though they had no. After the movie finished production, Ira remained in California working odd jobs and spending time in jail for his drunkenness. On November 11, 1953, Ira returned home. He could not control his drinking any longer. When he arrived home he had found out that his brother was awarded the Silver Star for heroism in Korea. “Ira’s drinking when on. Ira’s war would never end.”[24] Once again Ira would be called upon to reprise his role as a flag raiser when the statue of the famous flag rising would be unveiled on November 10, 1954. Once again Ira was reminded of those that he had left behind. His drinking began again. “He drank because he walked off that island, leaving so many of his good buddies behind.”[25] January 23, 1955, was a bitter cold night when Ira’s brothers and friends ask him to come play poker with them. Ira went but did not play. He sat in the corner drinking. When the game had ended, his brothers pleaded with Ira to come home with them but he refused. “At 8:00 am the next morning, his frozen lifeless body was discovered amid the rubble of discarded bottles and a rusting old jalopy. He apparently had stumble from the adobe shack and had collapsed, rendering himself unconscious. The official cause of death was overexposure to the harsh Arizona winter. Ira Hayes was dead.”[26] Ira was a United States Marine, and nothing made him prouder. He survived all the battles that the Marine Corps sent him in, with the exception of one. He did not survive the assignment of hero. Ira never understood why he was a hero, he walked off the island and survived, and that in his eyes did not make you a hero. Those who died were the heroes. It was because of their sacrifice that he was able to make it back in one piece. Ira Hayes was a hero, not only to the Marine Corps, but to the Pima Indian Tribe. When he was sent off to war, tribal elders told not to disgrace his family or tribe, and to be a Nobel Warrior. Ira was all that and so much more. Ira Hayes exemplified the statement engraved of the Marine Corps Memorial, which immortalizes Ira, UNCOMMON VALOR WAS A COMMOM VIRTUE. Bibliography 1. Bradley, James Flags of Our Fathers. New York: Bantam Books, 2000. 2. Flags of Our Fathers, DVD, Directed by Clint Eastwood. 2006; Dream Works Pictures, 2006. 3. Hemingway, Albert Ira Hayes; Pima Marine. Maryland: University Press of America, 1988. 4. Heroes of Iwo Jima, DVD, Directed by Lauren Lexton. 2001; A & E Home Video, 2001. 5. Nelson, S. D. Quiet Hero; The Ira Hayes Story. New York: Lee and Low Books, Inc., 2006. 6. World War II Gyrene, “Spotlight on Marine Heroes #10” , http://www.ww2gyrene.org ----------------------- [1] Albert Hemingway, Ira Hayes; Pima Marine (Maryland: University Press of America, 1988), 1. [2] Ibid., 1 [3] S. D. Nelson, Quiet Hero; The Ira Hayes Story (New York: Lee and Low Books, Inc., 2006), 5 [4] Albert Hemingway, Ira Hayes; Pima Marine (Maryland: University Press of America, 1988), 2. [5] Ibid., 2. [6] Ibid., 5. [7] Ibid., 7. [8] Ibid., 7. [9] Ibid., 41. [10] Ibid., 43. [11] World War II Gyrene, “Spotlight on Marine Heroes #10” , http://www.ww2gyrene.org/spotlight10_1.htm. [12] World War II Gyrene, “Spotlight on Marine Heroes #10” , http://www.ww2gyrene.org/spotlight10_4.htm. [13] James Bradley, Flags of Our Fathers (New York: Bantam Books, 2000), 177. [14] Ibid., 177. [15] Albert Hemingway, Ira Hayes; Pima Marine (Maryland: University Press of America, 1988), 83. [16] James Bradley, Flags of Our Fathers (New York: Bantam Books, 2000), 230. [17] Ibid., 242. [18] Albert Hemingway, Ira Hayes; Pima Marine (Maryland: University Press of America, 1988), 130. [19] Ibid., 131. [20] Ibid., 132. [21] Ibid., 133. [22] James Bradley, Flags of Our Fathers (New York: Bantam Books, 2000), 304. [23] Ibid., 307. [24] Ibid., 325. [25] Ibid., 325. [26] Albert Hemingway, Ira Hayes; Pima Marine (Maryland: University Press of America, 1988), 158.