Ira Hayes was a Pima Native American who served as a United States Marine and is best remembered as one of the six flag-raisers who have been immortalized in Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph capturing the flag-raising on Iwo Jima during the Second World War. He was born into the Gila River Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona, members of which were not even considered as citizens or had voting rights when he was born. However, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve and fought in Bougainville and Iwo Jima during WWII. He received several honors and also helped in identifying his deceased friend Harlon Block in the Rosenthal picture. He succumbed to alcoholism and died at the age of 32, following which he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. A figure of him and his friends raising the flag is showcased in the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
