The Sad Tale of Ira Hayes, A Marine in ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’

May 26, 2025

Matt Growcoot

Jim Rhosenthal's Raising the Flag. — Joe Rhosenthal’s iconic Raising the Flag photo. Ira Hayes is the furthest figure on the left. | Associated Press

On Memorial Day, a time to honor the men and women who died while serving in the military, PetaPixel looks at the life of soldier Ira Hayes in four photos.

Hayes was a Native American marine and one of the six men in Joe Rosenthal’s iconic Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photo.

Black and white portrait of a young man in military uniform standing in front of a height chart, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression. — Hayes’ Marine Corps recruitment photo (1942). Born on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona, he was originally assigned to the 3rd Marine Parachute Battalion, where he saw combat during the Bougainville Campaign. In 1944, Hayes was reassigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines as an infantryman, in preparation for the Marine Corps assault on the Japanese island stronghold of Iwo Jima.

His inclusion in the Raising the Flag photograph brought him fame, he was one of only three surviving flag-raisers brought back to the U.S. and was used to promote war bonds. But Hayes found the limelight deeply uncomfortable, haunted by survivor’s guilt and suffering with PTSD. He reportedly disliked being called a hero, feeling the true heroes were those who never made it home.

A man in military uniform points to a famous photograph of soldiers raising the American flag at Iwo Jima, which is pinned to the wall. He looks at the camera with a serious expression. — Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes points himself out in the historic picture of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, 1945. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

Hayes, who was born on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona in 1923, returned there after the war. But the trauma of war and the pressures of fame had taken its toll. He suffered from what we now recognize as PTSD and turned to alcohol to cope. He was arrested multiple times for public intoxication and became increasingly isolated. On January 24, 1955, at just 32 years old, Hayes was found dead from exposure and alcohol poisoning in a ditch near his home.

A man with short dark hair sits behind metal jail bars, looking upward. The image is black and white, and shadows partially obscure his face. — Ira Hayes, one of the six Marines who appeared in the famous Iwo Jima flag raising picture, stands behind bars, Nov. 2, 1953, in West Los Angeles after being arrested for drunkenness. He had been working as a handyman and chauffeur for comedian Dean Martin’s ex-wife, who had hired him after hearing of his last arrest for drunkenness in Chicago. | AP Photo/Los Angeles Mirror

Despite his tragic end, Hayes’ story has resonated. He was portrayed by Tony Curtis in the 1961 film The Outsider, and his life inspired the folk song The Ballad of Ira Hayes, written by Peter LaFarge and famously recorded by Johnny Cash.

Features