A face mask of Ira Hayes, the Pima man whose participated in the iconic raising of the American flag during World War II, was returned to his family and buried at his grave. The family never knew of the mask's existence until recently. "In Pima culture, when you pass on, everything you own is supposed to go with you," Sharon Cook told USA Today. "They say because of this, Ira's body was never sent to rest." The mask was made at a funeral parlor after Hayes died in 1955. It changed hands a few times and ended up at the Gilbert Ortega Museum Gallery of Scottsdale, Arizona. The mask was returned to the family last month. Hayes was a member of the Gila River Indian Community. Get the Story:
Iwo Jima flag raiser's body 'was never sent to rest' (USA Today 12/4)