Ira Hayes - Portrayal in Music, Film and Literature

Portrayal in Music, Film and Literature

  • Hayes' story was immortalized in a song, "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", by Peter LaFarge. Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Smiley Bates, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Kinky Friedman, Tom Russell, Hazel Dickens, Patrick Sky, and Townes Van Zandt each covered the song. In 1964, Cash took the song to number 3 on the Billboard country music chart.
  • Ira Hayes appeared as himself in the 1949 John Wayne film, Sands of Iwo Jima.
  • In the 1960 telefilm The American, he was played by Marine veteran Lee Marvin.
  • Tony Curtis played Hayes in the 1961 film The Outsider.
  • Hayes was portrayed by Adam Beach in the 2006 movie Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie was based on the 2000 bestselling book of the same name by James Bradley and Ron Powers.
  • The poet Ai dedicates her poem "I Can't Get Started" to Hayes.
  • Ira Hayes is mentioned in the poem "Petroglyphs of Serena" by Adrian C. Louis.
  • Ira Hayes was also mentioned briefly in the book "Code Talker" by Joseph Bruchac.
  • Ira Hayes was also mentioned multiple times in the book "Indian Killer" by Sherman Alexie.

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