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Dedicated to those men of the Special Officer Candidates' School September
1944 who
gave their lives in the service of their country at Iwo Jima and
Okinawa
Allen, Robert William
Armiger, John Oliver
Baker, William Leonard
Bittig, John Arthur
Brundage, Robert Peter
Cabrall, Francis Paul Jr.
Cohen, Erwin Robert
Cook, Thomas Clayton
Crane, Duncan McLaren
Dahl, John Manly
Davis, Dick Leon
DeMange, Ewing Antoine
Dieffenderfer, James Herbert
Dunning, Charles William
Eckert, John Andrew III
Ehrisman, Richard Dean
Evangelist, Nicholas Charles
Falcon, Lawless Costant
Fansler, Jack Willard
Fisher, William Farr
Fussell, Hilton Howard III
Gaillard, Edward McGrady Jr.
Garcia, Alberto
Ginsburg, Daniel
Harrington, Charles Edwin Jr.
Harris, James Dudley
Hawkins, William Blair
Henderson, Eugene
Holmes, Robert Duncan
Hutchcroft, Lester Earl
Jones, Dunbar
Kalish, Norbert
Lamport, Harry Bowman Jr.
Leach, Edmund Lyons
Louviere, Clarence Justin Jr.
Lowell, Harvey William
Mason, Quintin
McCreary, Kenneth Grant
Miller, Lloyd Lynn
Mueller, Donald Edward
Muir, William Matthew
Munroe, Richard Poundstone
Murphy, Dean Gilroy
Pace, Sidney Bransford
Ray, Stanley
Saperstein, Samuel
Todd, George Kenneth
Woodworth, Henry Dresses Jr. |
| Roster of the 3rd Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine
Division
as of February 19, 1945, whose mission it was to take the Flag to the
top of Mount
Suribachi during the Battle for Iwo Jima.
One of the most decorated platoons for a single engagement in the history of the
U.S.
Marine Corps.
1st Lt. John K. Wells
Plt. Sgt. Ernest I. Thomas
Sgt. Henry O. Hansen (Platoon Guide)
1st Squad
Sgt. Howard M. Sndyer
Cpl. Harold P. Keller
Cpl. Edward J. Romero Jr.
Cpl. Richard J. Wheeler
Pfc. Louis B. Adrian
Pfc. Phillip E. Christman
Pfc. John J. Fredotovich
Pfc. Edward S. Kurelik
Pfc. James A. Robeson
Pfc. Raymond A. Strahm
2nd Squad
Cpl. Robert M. Lane
Cpl. Wayne C. Hathaway
Cpl. Everett M. Lavelle
Pfc. Robert L. Blevins
Pfc. Alva E. Jefferson
Pfc. Manuel Panizo
Pfc. Donald J. Ruhl
Pfc. William S. Wayne
Pvt. James D. Breitenstein
Pvt. Ogle T. Lemon
3rd Squad
Sgt. Kenneth D. Midkiff
Cpl. James E. Hagstrom
Cpl. Robert A. Leader
Pfc. Graydon W. Dyce
Pfc. Bert M. Freeman
Pfc. Leo J. Rozek
Pvt. Kenneth S. Espenes
Pvt. Clark L. Gaylord
Pvt. Ralph A. Ignatowski
Pvt. John G. Scheperle
Pvt. Charles E. Schott
Assault Squad
Cpl. Charles W. Lindberg
Pfc. John H. Eller
Pfc. Clarence H. Garrett
Pfc. Clarence R. Hipp
Pfc. William J. McNulty
Pfc. James R. Michels
Pfc. Richard S. White
Pvt. Robert D. Goode
Pvt. Edward Krisik
Pvt. Philip L. Ward.
Navy Hospital Corpsmen
PhM2c John H. Bradley
PhM3c Clifford R. Langley |
Harlon H. Block, of Weslaco, Texas, was 18 years old in 1943 when he enlisted in the Marine Corps. As a member of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine
Division, his company was one of the first ashore on February 19, 1945 when
allied forces stormed the Pacific Island of Iwo Jima.
On the fifth day of battle, Block's rifle platoon was sent to raise a large
American flag on the island's highest point, Mount Suribachi. The event was
captured in a world famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal, which inspired Felix de
Weldon to sculpt the Iwo Jima War Memorial for the Arlington National Cemetery.
The original model of that monument is the memorial here at Marine Military
Academy. Corporal Block is the Marine seen at the base of the flagpole, pushing
it into the volcanic rock.
On March 1, just six days after the flag raising, Block was killed in subsequent
fighting on Iwo Jima, and buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery there.
After the war, his remains were returned to Weslaco.
On February 18, 1995, during a ceremony commemorating the 50th Anniversary of
the battle of Iwo Jima, Corporal Harlon H. Block was enshrined here next to the
Iwo Jima Memorial, where the world will forever honor his bravery, and pay
tribute to the UnitedStates Marines, and all other members of the our nation's
Armed Forces. |
