--- title: "The Ballad of Iwo Jima flag raiser, Ira Hayes" date: "2022-07-24" modified: "2022-07-24" authors: - name: "Jos Joseph" job_title: "Marine Corps Veteran, Contributor" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/joslinjoseph/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/the-ballad-of-ira-hayes/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # The Ballad of Iwo Jima flag raiser, Ira Hayes ![]() In 1964, country music star Johnny Cash released an unconventional album. It was called *"*Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian," and it was a radical departure from Cash's previous release five months prior, *"*I Walk the Line.*"* The album was a concept album and was entirely dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of Native Americans. --- The lead single of the album was called "The Ballad of Ira Hayes." Most Americans at the point had either forgotten who he was or had no idea who he was to begin with. But everyone in the United States and most people around the world had definitely seen his picture. He was in one of the most famous photographs in world history. *Ira Hayes* *Ira Hayes* *Call him drunken Ira Hayes* *He won't answer anymore* *Not the whiskey drinking Indian* *Or the Marine that went to war* Ira Hayes was one of six Marines that were photographed by Joe Rosenthal on the summit of Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. He was part of a group that was ordered to take down the first flag raised and replace it with a bigger flag so that it would be seen better. As the flag went up, Rosenthal took a couple of snaps (he almost missed the flag raising looking for rocks to use as a stand) and had the pictures flown out to Guam. When the film was developed, the photo editor of the AP claimed it was "one for all ages" and had it sent to New York. It was immediately sent around the world 17 hours after it was taken. It won the Pulitzer Prize that year and became one of the most iconic photographs ever taken. And it was about to push into the limelight a young man who had always tried to avoid it. ![]() *U.S. Navy* *Gather 'round me people* *There's a story I would tell* *'Bout a brave young Indian* *You should remember well* *From the land of the Pima Indian* *A proud and noble band* *Who farmed the Phoenix Valley* *In Arizona land* *Down the ditches a thousand years* *The waters grew Ira's peoples' crops* *'Til the white man stole their water rights* *And the sparkling water stopped* *Now, Ira's folks were hungry* *And their land grew crops of weeds* *When war came, Ira volunteered* *And forgot the white man's greed* Ira Hayes was born on the Gila River Indian Community, a reservation in Arizona. He was the son of a World War I vet and was the eldest of six children, of which two died in infancy, and two died in their 20s. Life on the reservation was hard. His father was a farmer but farmed on land that was almost unsuitable for farming big crops. He was only able to grow enough to sustain the family. Hayes was a Pima Indian, who were traditionally famers. However, the U.S. government moved the Pima to an area around the Gila River where the land was not too agreeable with an agricultural lifestyle. An effort to build a dam that would send water to the community instead flowed toward a nearby white community, which led many Pima to think the government was trying to kill them off. Hayes grew up as one of the few kids that could speak English and learned to read and write. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he was one of the millions of kids that went to join the military. *Call him drunken Ira Hayes* *He won't answer anymore* *Not the whiskey drinking Indian* *Or the Marine that went to war* *There they battled up Iwo Jima hill* *Two hundred and fifty men* *But only twenty-seven lived* *To walk back down again* *And when the fight was over* *And Old Glory raised* *Among the men who held it high* *Was the Indian, Ira Hayes* Hayes graduated from boot camp in San Diego and was designated a Paramarine (this was a shortlived MOS that was essentially an airborne Marine). He earned his wings and went off to fight in Bouganville in the South Pacific. He then was assigned to 5th Marine Division and started training for the upcoming invasion of Iwo Jima. Hayes landed with his unit at the base of Mt Suribachi 75 years ago. On February 23, the was to accompany his Sergeant, Mike Strank up Mt Suribachi to replace the smaller American flag that had just been raised with a bigger one. One of the Marines that joined him was his friend, Harlan Block. After they raised the flag, they continued on to fight for another five weeks. The battle was much more ferocious than expected with the Japanese fighting to the last man while trying to inflict as many casualites. The Marines fought bravely but endured a terrible toll in taking the island. Hayes himself watched his friend, Block die as well as Sergeant Strank. At the end of the battle, Hayes emerged physically unscathed, but the mental and emotional toll was heavy. In his platoon of 45 men, only 5 were left when the battle was over. *Call him drunken Ira Hayes* *He won't answer anymore* *Not the whiskey drinking Indian* *Or the Marine that went to war* *Ira Hayes returned a hero* *Celebrated through the land* *He was wined and speeched and honored* *Everybody shook his hand* *But he was just a Pima Indian* *No water, no home, no chance* *At home nobody cared what Ira'd done* *And when did the Indians dance* ![]() *Hayes meets with Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron in 1947 over discrimination against Native Americans (Public domain/Wikimedia Commons)* Within two weeks of leaving Iwo, Hayes and the two other living flag raisers, Rene Gagnon and James Bradley were put on a plane and flown to Washington, D.C. Before he died, Franklin Roosevelt wanted them to be paraded around the country to raise money for war bonds. The war in Japan still needed to be won, and the loss of American life so far had not sat well with the public that wanted their boys home. Roosevelt and his successor Harry Truman knew the flag raisers would be instrumental in raising money for the war. Raising the Iwo Jima flag over the U.S. Capitol, they then went to New York and around the country. For Hayes, there were a few things bothering him. First, he knew that his friend Harlan Block was one of the flag raisers and somehow was misidentified as someone else. He told officers at Headquarters Marine Corps what happened, and they told him the names were released, and it was too late. He was ordered to keep quiet. The second was he was suffering from what we now know as survivors guilt and PTSD. He just wanted to head back to his unit and be with his friends. He was able to leave the tour early and headed back and was part of the occupation force of Japan. *Call him drunken Ira Hayes* *He won't answer anymore* *Not the whiskey drinking Indian* *Or the Marine that went to war* *Then Ira started drinking hard* *Jail was often his home* *They let him raise the flag and lower it* *Like you'd throw a dog a bone* *He died drunk early one morning* *Alone in the land he fought to save* *Two inches of water and a lonely ditch* *Was a grave for Ira Hayes* After the war, Ira Hayes had a few years as a minor celebrity. People would stop by the reservation to say hi, he recreated his role in a John Wayne movie, and attended ceremonies honoring his role in the flag raising. He tried to make things right and hitchhiked 1,300 miles to see the family of Harlan Block. He told them their son was one of the flag raisers and wrote a letter they could present in which he gave details on how to prove it (the boots Block and Hayes wore were Paratrooper boots and different than the other Marines). But the guilt and trauma that Hayes endured were too much. He also dealt with the racism Native Americans faced when he traveled. Once he went to visit a war buddy and wasn't allowed on the property because he was Indian. He had to wait on the road until his friend arrived home. He couldn't hold a job and became an alcoholic. When he was back in Arizona, things got worse. Farming was impossible, there were few resources, and there was nothing to do but drink. He was arrested over 50 times for public intoxication. When asked about his drinking he 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." Hayes died on Jan. 24, 1955. He was found next to an abandoned hut on the reservation, dead of exposure and alcohol poisoning. He was later buried at Arlington National Cemetery. ![]() *Hayes' headstone at Arlington National Cemetary (Wikimedia Commons)* *Call him drunken Ira Hayes* *He won't answer anymore* *Not the whiskey drinking Indian* *Or the Marine that went to war* *Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes* *But his land is just as dry* *And his ghost is lying thirsty* *In the ditch where Ira died* A decade later, Johnny Cash decided he would create an album about how Native Americans were treated in the USA. Cash at the time, believed he was part Cherokee and took up a cause that few cared or even knew about. For his *Bitter Tears* album, he used several songs from his friend, songwriter and Korean veteran Peter LaFarge. One of the songs was a song, LaFarge had written about Hayes. In the lead up to its release the album proved controversial. Radio stations and fans balked at the political nature of the song, and stations refused to play it. Cash was so angered he took out a full-page ad in Billboard magazine in which he called out those who were boycotting the song and album seen [here](). The song would end up being a hit, rising up to #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles. For Ira Hayes, his heroism and tragic life would be immortalized forever not, just by a photograph but also a song. ## Author Joslin Joseph is senior contributor for We Are The Mighty covering sports, entertainment, news, and history. He is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq. After the service, he worked in the sports industry for organizations including the San Diego Padres, the Farmers Insurance Open, the University of Texas Athletics, Baylor Athletics, and Ohio State Athletics. He also helped build GovX’s sports, concert, and travel discount program for military veterans and first responders. His contributions to We Are The Mighty have included interviewing celebrities such as David Robinson, Craig Morgan, and Justin Fields. He also covered sports events and military participation in sports events such as the Super Bowl flyover. In addition to We Are The Mighty, Joslin’s writing has been published in The Hill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, San Francisco Chronicle, AOL, Yahoo News, Task & Purpose, and the Brattle Street Review. Born and raised in New Jersey, educated in Ohio, and currently living in Southern California. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]()