Ira was nineteen when the bombs hit in Hawaii. At the time he attended the Phoenix Indian School with others from his reservation. His tribe, the Pima Indian tribe, lived on a reservation located south of Phoenix on the Gila River. (Bradley 40). Like much of U.S. society in 1942, Ira became interested in the war accumulating in the Pacific. Each morning in the Indian school they would begin with news of the battles overseas. After the daily World War Two report was over, the students sang the anthems of the Army, Navy, and Marines. These updates each morning fueled Ira's eagerness to join the war effort with all other American boys. Because of Ira's race, there were other, deeper reasons that explain his interest in fighting for the United States. In 1942, Pima Indians were not recognized as citizens in the state of Arizona. They could not vote or sue anyone in the courts. (Bradley 41). Native Americans were separated by law and custom from mainstream U.S. society. Ira and other Native Americans saw the war as a new opportunity to be recognized by the rest of America as a contributing and important culture. The war against Japan was a perfect chance for Ira to prove his worth to the country, while representing Native American pride. Nine months after the bombings, Ira enlisted in the Marines. (Bradley 42).
While Japanese Americans were demoted and segregated in the beginning of the war, Native Americans such as Ira were being promoted into the armed forces. Unlike Jeanne's early war experiences, Ira was supported by conventional U.S. society. He took steps to join his race with mainstream American culture, while the same American culture looked to segregate Jeanne and Japanese Americans.
Halfway through the war, the American forces had begun to drive the Japanese military off of islands in the Pacific. Victorious battles such as Guadalcanal, Midway, and Iwo Jima, gave U.S. forces the upper hand against Japan.
