Harlon Block
| Harlon Block | |
|---|---|
Block in 1943
|
|
| Birth name | Harlon Henry Block |
| Born |
November 6, 1924 Yorktown, Texas |
| Died | March 1, 1945 (aged 20) Iwo Jima, Japan |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Marine Corps
|
| Years of service | 1943 – 1945 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards |
Purple Heart Medal Combat Action Ribbon |
Harlon Henry Block (November 6, 1924 – March 1, 1945) was a United States Marine Corps corporal who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
Born in Yorktown, Texas, Block joined the Marine Corps with seven high school classmates in February 1943, and subsequently participated in combat on Bougainville and Iwo Jima. He is best known for being one of the six flag-raisers who helped raise the second U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as shown in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
The Marine Corps War Memorial located in Arlington, Virginia, which was modeled after the flag-raising photograph, depicts bronze statues of each of the six Marine flag-raisers.
Block was born in Yorktown, Texas, the third of six children to Edward Frederick Block and Ada Belle Brantley, a Seventh day-Adventist family. The Block children were: Edward, Jr., Maurine, Harlon, Larry, Corky, and Melford. Edward Frederick Block was a World War I veteran and supported his family by working as a dairy farmer. In hopes of improving the family, the Block family relocated to Weslaco, Texas, a city located in the Rio Grande Valley. His father became a dairy farmer, and the children attended a Seventh-day Adventist private school. Harlon Block was expelled in his freshman year when he refused to tell the principal which student had vandalized the school. Block then transferred to Weslaco High School and was remembered as an outgoing student with many friends. A natural athlete, Block led the Weslaco Panther Football Team to the Conference Championship. He was honored as "All South Texas End". Block and seven of his high school friends decided on joining the Marine Corps before they graduated and the school held a special early graduation ceremony for them in January 1943.
...
Wikipedia