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unusual facts about Ira Hayes


Shadow of Suribachi: Raising the Flags on Iwo Jima

Recounted is the story of how Ira Hayes knew that it was actually Corporal Harlon Block in the photograph, and tried to bring the misidentification to the attention of the Marine Corps, but was told that since both Hansen and Block were dead, he should let it go.


Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian

The one single from Bitter Tears that was released was "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", which reached No. 3 on the Country charts; the song tells the story of Ira Hayes, a young Marine of Pima descent who participated in the flag raising on Iwo Jima and became an instant celebrity, only to die drunk and in poverty on the Gila River Reservation where he was born.


see also

Franklin Sousley

In the 1961 film The Outsider, starring Tony Curtis as Ira Hayes, the fictional character James B. Sorenson (Hayes's Marine buddy in the movie), portrayed by James Franciscus, was a composite based primarily on Franklin Sousley.