Ira Hayes- 90

Ira Hayes Born

90 Yrs Ago

January 12, 1922

Ira Hayes was one of six US Marines who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi, Feb 23, 1945, following a US assault on the Japanese stronghold. The event was immortalized by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal's famous photo and later by a Marine War Memorial monument at Arlington, VA. Hayes was born on a Pima Indian Reservation at Arizona. He returned home after World War 2 a much celebrated hero, but Hayes was unable to cope with fame. He was found dead in 1955.