Weslaco unveiling new memorial honoring Iwo Jima flag raiser Harlon Block
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Weslaco, TX (KRGV) — Weslaco will honor a local hero with a new memorial at the Harlon Block Sports Complex.
Corporal Harlon H. Block was one of six Marines in the famous World War II photo “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.” He died during that battle.
The city will unveil a statue recreating the flag-raising scene. Weslaco Mayor Adrian Gonzalez said the monument took months of planning, fundraising, and community support.
“Our committee was out there fundraising and reaching out for donors to donate, so it was something that's really important that we wanted to make happen, and we didn't really have a problem trying to raise money,” Gonzalez said.
Veteran Adam Shidler has a display of the Iwo Jima flag raising photo at his coffee shop.
“I think it's a really big deal that Weslaco, especially as his hometown, is going out of their way to recognize it,” Shidler said. “I think it's really important that we remember our heroes, the people who really sacrificed and went above and beyond and exemplify characteristics we want to embody.”
Andrew Booher wrote "The Weslaco Eight," a book about Block and seven other Weslaco men who enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943.
Booher said Block's family did not learn he was in the photo until after his death, when fellow Marine Ira Hayes told them.
“Ira Hayes, who was in the flag raising and in Harlon's squad... hitchhiked from Arizona all the way here to Texas and told Harlon's father that his son was in the famous photo that had been in the newspapers... Harlon's mom... had always thought that was her son in the picture,” Booher said.
The unveiling ceremony is set for Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. at the Harlon Block Sports Complex, located at 1020 W. 18th St. in Weslaco. Gonzalez said people should arrive early to catch a special flyover before the ceremony begins.
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