A memorial to him stands on the reservation.

He is remembered there not primarily as the man in the photograph but as one of their own — someone who left, served, suffered, and came back, as many of their people did.

The Akimel O’odham continue to live on the Gila River reservation, which now has a functioning water supply and a tribal economy that includes a major resort casino and various enterprises that have substantially improved the community’s economic situation compared to the decades Hayes lived through.

The continuity between his world and the present-day community is real, even as the specifics have changed enormously.