I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. They were better men than me and they’re not coming back. Much less back to the White House, like me.
Meaning of the quote
The soldier Ira Hayes was feeling very sad and close to having a breakdown. He was thinking about his good friends who had fought alongside him, but who were now gone. He felt that they were better people than he was, and that they would never come back, not even to the important place like the White House, which he had the chance to visit. Ira was struggling with the loss of his comrades and feeling unworthy compared to them.
About Ira Hayes
Ira Hayes was an Akimel O’odham Indigenous American who served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was one of the six men who appeared in the iconic photograph ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,’ which became a symbol of American valor. However, after the war, Hayes struggled with post-traumatic stress and alcoholism, and tragically passed away at a young age.
More quotes from Ira Hayes
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I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. They were better men than me and they’re not coming back. Much less back to the White House, like me.
Native American United States Marine (1923-1955)