Talk:Ira Hayes

The Picture
I have a question about the portrait photograph of Mr. Hayes. Why does it look like there is a police-lineup-style height chart behind him. If this is indeed a picture take of him during an arrest, can we PLEASE find one of him in better circumstances. If I am mistaken about the photo, and it turns out to be a standard Marine thing to take a picture in front of a height chart, then I apologize. Still, if I could make this mistake, then so could others, so we should still find a better picture. Perhaps contact the tribe? I'm sure they would be willing to offer a better photo. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mrbinky3000 (talk • contribs) 15:05, 6 February 2007 (UTC).


 * Must have been a practice at the time (I was in from 1982 to 1986 and never had one like that taken) because the photograph of Harlon Block (another of the flagraisers) also has a height chart in the background. Sir Rhosis 22:09, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

but in the context, I think it's pejorative since, compared to Harlon Block, a lot of other pictures are available. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.94.89.175 (talk) 03:45, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

lots of people probably looked at this and saw that maybe he did get arrested and if he did why is it not in the biography.

Its a Marine Corps service photo. YahwehSaves (talk) 05:11, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

The tragedy of Ira Hayes wasn't just that he was a veteran of WW2 but that he was transformed into a hero by an American public hungry for heroes and that he, like the other two survivors of the photograph, had a difficult time coping with their new-found status, when Hayes himself said that "the real heroes were the ones that died in the battle." He should remain as hero, because that is what makes him famous. Danny

You are going to probably have an issue when I go start referring to German WWII vets as heroes, so lets just agree on NPOV.


 * "the real heroes were the ones that died in the battle."

Susan Mason

No, I will probably have an issue when you ignore what I just explained. His status and his tragedy was because he was transformed into a hero. He appears in Wikipedia because of that. We do not have articles on every veteran that died. Danny

hero is POV. You are free to explain that he became famous and many considered him a hero, you are not free to define him as a hero. Hayes himself disagreed with you:

Susan Mason
 * "the real heroes were the ones that died in the battle."

In this case, hero is not POV. It is a statement of fact that the American government made him into a hero. That is why he was famous. Whether he liked the moniker or not is irrelevant.

Ah, so which piece of legislation officially made him a Hero of the Republic? Susan Mason
 * Rosenthal's photo presented him as a hero, and he was accepted as such. It is not POV to say that people treated him as a hero. Vicki Rosenzweig 17:17 Mar 8, 2003 (UTC)

But Vicki, the article doesnt say that, it says Ira Hayes was a hero, which is POV, rather than, The news media presented Hayes as a hero. This is as inappropriate as starting the Jesus article with Jesus is the king of kings, the lord almighty, the son of God himself. Or with starting the Rommel article with, Erwin Rommel was the greatest German general of WWII and a hero of the Reich.Susan Mason


 * "the real heroes were the ones that died in the battle." -- Ira Hayes on whether or not he was a hero

At the bottom there was only 1 paragraph from the entire poem/song. I don't believe this conveyed the message of the song at all, so I added all the lyrics.


 * Hero clearly has two distinguishable senses, one PoV and one not. (And shame on us -- but not for this article -- if Hero fails to make that clear.)
 * The PoV sense is associated with the term heroism, and involves the PoV assertion that the hero is a good person to whom others owe gratitude and emulation.
 * The NPoV sense concerns various social phenomena such as hero worship and a status (which probably has a formal name i've forgotten or never needed to learn) metaphorically called poster boy (and not too distantly related to some senses of cover girl). Some (but not all) medals are examples of objective criteria for identifying someone as a hero in the NPoV sense: the Congressional Medal of Honor is certainly one but i presume the Good Conduct Medal and most campaign ribbons are not.
 * It is a simple fact that this article can not be properly written without use of the word hero. IMO it probably must be used outside quotes. It is worth discussing whether reference to the distinction i make in this contrib needs to be included in this article; IM(current)O, it is sufficient to link it to Hero (and check that that article is properly written), and IMO Susan's opinion probably reflects either naivete or bloody-minded-ness in her rather than reality. But exactly how to use the word hero here is probably worth discussing on this talk page.
 * (For the record "king of kings, the lord almighty, the son of God himself" is a false analogy bcz that has no NPoV sense. And you're damn straight that Erwin Rommel must be described as a hero: if he had not been, he would not have been permitted to suicide (rather than be executed) for his act of treason.)
 * And finally, a hero is probably the last person you should believe when they make statements on what constitutes a hero, since part of being a hero in the NPoV sense is normally that they have to use hero only in PoV senses!
 * --Jerzy (t) 14:05, 2005 Apr 29 (UTC)

Pomp and circumstance?
I find it hard to believe that the reporter really asked how Ira liked "the pomp and circumstances"? Not only does the question make no sense as worded here, but no one says that. The phrase is "pomp and circumstance" (no plural), where circumstance means "3. attendant formalities and ceremonial" (Miriam-Webster online), not "facts and conditions connected to or relevant to an event", as implied by the plural form. I know that this same apparent error is made in BBC's web archive, but I still find it hard to believe. Joel Bastedo 23:37, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
 * That's because you are thinking of "pomp" and "circumstance" rather than "pomp and circumstance", a shorthand way of referring to formal ceremony derived from its use in graduation ceremonies in the U.S. - BT 15:12, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Grammar errors
Is 2d and 3d supposed to be 2nd and 3rd, or is it just me (infobox)? Sr13 08:40, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

IIRC, the Marines sometimes abbreviated with only the "d." Rather it is correct or not may not matter if they do it that way in official documents. I remember always being told to spell the word "insure" as "ensure," also, for whatever reason. Sir Rhosis 20:11, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

NPOV - Death
Ira fell drunk in an irrigation ditch and froze to death, alone and forgotten by a country that had called him a hero. The ditch where he died was the single source of water that was provided for his people by the same government he'd proudly served. There is an obvious bias here. It should be changed to simply state the facts. although morally the government should have done more, Wikipedia, as an encyclopedia, should not decide. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.187.218.204 (talk) 02:07, 24 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I doubt that his death was due to "fame". He became a drunkard, like so many of his race. That is all.Royalcourtier (talk) 23:08, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Hayes who grew up in a small home with a dirt floor during the Great Depression was the only survivor of his rifle squad on Iwo Jima that wasn't wounded or killed. He suffered and died more or less from PTSD and alcoholism. YahwehSaves (talk) 05:11, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

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Disruptive Edits
Currently, I am engaging in an edit war with YahwehSaves (Talk|Contribs) and their sock puppet 75.79.31.20 (Talk|Contribs) (which is a common occurrence for their disruptive edits, see their contributions page), for their attempts to add unreferenced and uncited information. One issue is the Combat Action Ribbon, which wasn't awarded until 1969. YahwehSaves continues to add this information, among other unreferenced information, to the page, where I promptly revert the edit & invite them to discuss such edits here at the talk page. It is not my intention to keep factual information from being on this page, but I'm unable to find any references to Ira Hayes being retroactively awarded the CAR. As such, the edits made by YahwehSaves & 75.79.31.20 will be continue to be reverted if unreferenced.Bullmoosebell (talk) 02:22, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Public Law 106-65--October 5, 1999 > The Secretary of the Navy may award the Combat Action Ribbon to members of the Navy or Marines Marine Corps for participation in ground or surface combat (Ira Hayes) during any period on or after Dec. 7, 1941. The CAR counts as one of Hayes's (not KIA) military awards and should be included on his awards list in order of precedence and not by a separate "Posthumous" award (Bullmoosebell disruptive edit). Good Conduct Medal > Ira Hayes was not awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (see Net, lists of his awards especially by Marine Corps) because the USMC requirement for it up until Dec. 10. 1945 was 4 years of service. Parachutist Badge > The silver parachutist badge (1941) didn't need to be changed by Bullmoosebell (disruptive edit) to the USMC gold parachutist badge. Ira Hayes photo(s) in his Marine uniform on Net and books etc. always shows the silver parachutist badge (1941 version) he was awarded in 1942. The gold USMC parachutist badge wasn't available during WW2 and the silver parachutist badge is not exchangeable for the gold USMC parachutist badge. Combat "V" > Marine Corps allocates the "V" as the Combat "V" not the "V" Device (Army) and didn't need to be changed by Bullmoosebell (disruptive edit)YahwehSaves (talk) 06:00, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

Flag raising
The flag raising was not "an event photographed by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press". In fact the photograph was of a re-enactment of the flag raising.Royalcourtier (talk) 23:09, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

The second flag and flagstaff went up the same time the first flag and flagstaff came down a few feet apart (USMC photo - ). YahwehSaves (talk) 05:11, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
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 * USMC War Memorial Night.jpg

Thank you Corporal.
I know you suffered personal issues after the war. Many do. My dad served in the USMC & in Vietnam twice. He was Black. Like you & my father you're both up there with fellow Marines & other great souls. Don't pay any of those White folks any mind. My dad always said that White men only understand one language. That is VIOLENCE & hatred. Again, thank you.

Craig — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:603:1300:5AE0:9863:E32B:67AA:E4AF (talk) 02:13, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

the BAR referred to in the write-up stands for Browning Automatic Rifle.
BAR clarification 2600:1702:4600:6BE0:F8EB:BAD4:C5D7:6F7 (talk) 21:41, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

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 * USMC War Memorial Night.jpg

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There was a corpsman
In the article I just read it said Ira Hayes and five other Marines. I don’t know If it was the first or the second flag raising, but there was a navy corpsman it wasn’t all marines even though a corpsman is basically a marine they do everything we do, and then patches up so we can get out there and do it again….. 174.214.49.152 (talk) 02:31, 29 March 2023 (UTC)

In 2016, iirc, it was proven via photographic evidence that John Bradley, the corpsman, was not in the second famous picture. Please see Raising the flag on Iwo Jima for full details. Sir Rhosis (talk) 11:07, 29 March 2023 (UTC)