MMA honors Iwo Jima flag-raiser Harlon Block

Harlon Block Ceremony

Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, held a battalion review and wreath-laying in honor of Iwo Jima flag-raiser and South Texas native Cpl. Harlon Block on Nov. 6, his birthday.

More than 150 people attended this event. Special guests included Mayor of Harlingen Chris Boswell, Mayor of Weslaco David Suarez and Star Day Foundation President Dennis Kulvicki. The guest of honor, however, was World War II veteran, Iwo Jima survivor and Block’s best friend Glen Cleckler.

Block, a native of Weslaco, Texas, was captured on film during World War II by photographer Joe Rosenthal on Feb. 23, 1945, during a flag-raising on the island of Iwo Jima. Of the six men, Block was the one at the base of the flagstaff.

The Marine never saw the famous photo, as he was killed in action March 1, 1945, at age 21. Block, born Nov. 6, 1924, would have turned 91 years old this year. His gravesite lies behind the Iwo Jima Monument on the MMA campus.

To South Texas historians, Block was a member of the “Weslaco Eight.” In the 1942-43 school year, he and seven other Weslaco High School football players were allowed to graduate high school at mid-term (December 1942) so they could join the U.S. Marine Corps and serve their country during the war.

To national historians, Block belongs to a selfless generation of Americans now known as “The Greatest Generation.”

Click to see photos of this event.