Ио Джима шайқасындағы қаһарман - Харлон Блок

US Marine Corps corporal (1924–1945)

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. He subsequently became a Paramarine and participated in combat on Bougainville. After the Paramarines were disbanded in 1944, he was one of the Marines who raised the second U. S. flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as shown in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. The first flag raised over Mount Suribachi at the south end of Iwo Jima was deemed too small. Later that day, Block, a rifleman in the 5th Marine Division, was ordered up the mountain with three Marines to raise a larger flag. The second flag raising photograph was an AP wirephoto that was widely reproduced and became famous. The second flag raising was also filmed in color. Block was not recognized as one of the second flag raisers until the Marine Corps announced in January 1947 (after an investigation) that he was in the photograph and Sergeant Henry Hansen was not. Block is one of three Marines in the photograph who were not originally identified as flag raisers. 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.

Block and seven of his high school football teammates enlisted in the Marine Corps on February 18, 1943, through the Selective Service System at San Antonio. They were sent to recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. On April 14, Private Block began parachute training at the Marine Parachute Training School in San Diego, and on May 22, he qualified as a Paramarine and was promoted to private first class. In November, he was sent to the Pacific Theater arriving at New Caledonia on November 15. On November 24, he was assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, I Marine Amphibious Corps. On December 21, he landed on Bougainville. On December 22, he was assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Parachute Battalion, I Marine Amphibious Corps. On February 14, 1944, Pfc. Block returned to San Diego with his unit. On February 29, the parachutists were disbanded. On March 1, Pfc. Block was assigned to Second Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California. In September, he was sent to Hawaii with his unit after extensive training, and began more training and preparation for the invasion of Iwo Jima. He was promoted to corporal on October 27. and Corporal Charles Lindberg at about 10:30 a. m. Seeing the raising of the national colors immediately caused loud cheers from the Marines, sailors, and Coast Guardsmen on the south end beaches of Iwo Jima and from the men on the ships near the beach. Due to the high winds on Mount Suribachi, Sgt. Hansen, Private Phil Ward, and Navy corpsman John Bradley pitched in to help make the flagstaff stay in a vertical position. The men at, around, and holding the flagstaff were photographed several times by Marine Staff Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, a photographer with Leatherneck magazine who accompanied the patrol up the mountain. Platoon Sgt. Thomas was killed on March 3 and Sgt. Hansen was killed on March 1.

[[File:Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (color). ogg|thumb|Marine Sergeant Bill Genaust's color film of the second flag raising (Block holding flagstaff; backside) and Pfc. Harold Keller. Pfc. Schultz and Pfc. Keller were members of Lt. Schrier's patrol. Afterwards, rocks were added at the bottom of the flagstaff which was then stabilized by three guy ropes. The second raising was immortalized forever by the black and white photo of the flag raising by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. This flag raising was also filmed in color by Sergeant Bill Genaust. Marine historians, with the aid of the FBI's Digital Evidence Laboratory, also confirmed that Cpl. Block is the 18th man in Rosenthal's well known "Gung Ho" photo. Although Block's face is not visible, the top of his head (hairline and forehead) is seen directly behind Sgt. Hansen (who wears a soft cap). On March 14, another American flag was officially raised up a flagpole by two Marines under the orders of Lt. Gen. Holland Smith during a ceremony at the V Amphibious Corps command post on the other side of Mount Suribachi where the 3rd Marine Division troops were located. The flag flying on the summit of Mount Suribachi since February 23 was taken down. On March 26, 1945, the island was considered secure and the battle of Iwo Jima was officially ended. The 28th Marines left Iwo Jima on March 27 and returned to Hawaii to the 5th Marine Division training camp. Lt. Col. Johnson was killed in action on Iwo Jima on March 2 and Sgt. Genaust was killed on March 4. Sgt. Strank and Cpl. Block were killed on March 1 and Pfc. Sousley was killed on March 21.

According to the book Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley (son of Navy corpsman John Bradley), when Sgt. Strank was killed on March 1, Cpl. Block assumed command of Strank's squad in E Company's Second Platoon and, later the same day, Cpl. Block was mortally wounded by an enemy mortar round explosion while leading the squad during an attack toward Nishi Ridge. Cpl. Block's last words were, "They killed me!" However, Ralph Griffiths, a member of the same platoon as Cpl. Block, claimed that Sgt. Strank and Cpl. Block were killed instantly by the same shell which wounded him on March 1. Cpl. Block was originally buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima on March 5, 1945. A service was held there on March 26 with Pfc. Hayes and other members of E Company in attendance. In January 1949, Cpl. Block's remains were re interred in Weslaco, Texas. In 1995, his body was moved to a burial place at the Marine Military Academy near its Iwo Jima monument in Harlingen, Texas.

Block is featured in the 2006 Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood film Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood and produced by Eastwood, Spielberg, and Robert Lorenz. In the movie, Block is portrayed by American actor Benjamin Walker. His parents are portrayed by Christopher Curry and Judith Ivey. The film is based on the 2000 book of the same title.