During World War II, U.S. forces captured the small yet strategic Japanese-held Pacific island of Iwo Jima. On Feb. 23, 1945, during combat, Marine Harlon Block aided in laying telephone wire up an inert volcano. At the summit, Block and five others improvised a flagpole and attached a flag visible to those on the island and to outlying ships. In doing so, Block and his fellow servicemen became the subject of one of the most recognized photographic images of World War II, the U.S. flag raising on Mt. Suribachi. On Mar. 1, 1945, after his squad leader was killed, Block took command, but he was killed hours later. His remains were repatriated in 1949 to his hometown of Weslaco and in 1995 to the Iwo Jima Monument in Harlingen.