Ira Hayes is arguably Arizona’s most iconic World War II hero, as one of six Marines who famously raised the American flag at Iwo Jima.
Hayes’ decorated legacy was caught up in the recent scrubbing of DEI military history by the U.S. Department of Defense. Now some descendants are sharing his story from the Gila River Indian Community.
KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio joined The Show to talk about it.
Full conversation
SAM DINGMAN: Can you talk about that moment at the beginning of your piece where you held the dog tag? It seems like a lot of Ira Hamilton Hayes’ legacy is contained in this physical object.
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: Yeah, for sure. I think the historic weight of that moment was weighing upon me. And to quote Indiana Jones, you feel like it’s something that belongs in the museum, but it was better off in the family's hands. And I talked to Wayne after, and I said, “Gee, you must be concerned. You know. What happens when you go on? And where do you end up leaving the dog tag and the rest of your family's memorabilia?” And he said, “No. I’m not worried, because I have my daughter and the rest of the family to carry on that story, to continue sharing his legacy.”
DINGMAN: Well, speaking of his legacy, it seems like there’s sort of two levels to your story. There’s the version of Ira Hayes that was memorialized in that song. And now there’s been the removal of his name as part of the administration’s anti-DEI crackdown. Was there a sense in the conversations you had that this was sort of an insult on top of injury moment?
PIETRORAZIO: I would say so. I think that Ira Hayes’ legacy was already stained to some degree because of “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” song, that was popularized by Johnny Cash, as you mentioned. And at the same time, it kind of left an impression that this was the stereotype, and this perception as Wayne mentioned in my conversations with him and other relatives and descendants. But at the same time, the legacy of his was also erased, in part, and edited and revised by the Defense Department. And so this was a double-edged sword in that sense.
DINGMAN: So we hear this sentiment at the end of the piece from his nephew, that the community has been there longer than President Trump has. And you’ve been reporting on the ways that the anti-DEI crackdown has reverberated throughout the Indigenous community. What did that moment with his nephew at the end make you think about in terms of these broader conversations that you’ve been having?
PIETRORAZIO: I think the biggest takeaway what my conversation with Doug Juan was that it reminded me that Indigenous peoples have been serving in this country for — since the beginning of, the founding of this nation, at the beginning of the American Revolution, all the way on. It’s just people have served at high rates, to defend this land, America. But not only this land, but Indian Country, to protect their reservations and the people that they love as much as we do as non-Natives. And so to me, it was really eye-opening and reminded me that this legacy has been here a lot longer than before Ira Hayes, and will probably pursue after that.
