DVD Region 4
The 17-year-old Ira Hamilton Hayes has never been off the Pima reservation in Arizona when he enlists in the United States Marine Corps to serve his country in World War II. Hayes is shunned by fellow soldiers or mocked as "Chief" by them except for one, Jim Sorenson. By chance they are two of the five U.S. servicemen who memorably hoist the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the violent battle at Iwo Jima, after which Sorenson is killed by enemy fire. A morose and traumatised Hayes returns home, where he is proclaimed a hero and recruited to help sell war bonds to the public. As his depression mounts, Hayes, feeling unworthy of the attention and publicity, takes refuge in whiskey. His continued drunkenness becomes a public scandal. Hayes simply wishes to be left alone, but a tribal chief implores him to go to Washington, D.C., on his people's behalf to seek political support for an irrigation bill...
Actors: Tony Curtis, James Franciscus, Bruce Bennett, Gregory Walcott
Director: Delbert Mann
Languages: English
Subtitles: None Specified
Running Time: 108 minutes approx
Discs: 1