Brantley Association

Harlon Block, the son of Belle Brantley Block, and the great grandson of John David (Tobe) Brantley, is one of the marines in the photo seen around the world in 1945 that pictured soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima. Harlon was killed in action shortly after the photo was taken. He is portrayed actor Benjamin Walker in the film and his mother Belle Brantley Block is played by Judith Ivey.

This is a story that my mother, Zoie Brantley Durham, had told me about her first cousin Belle Brantley and her son several decades ago. She gave me some newspaper clippings from 1945 that reported the incident.

Harlon and several of his class mates at Weslaco High School in south Texas were allowed to graduate early so they could join the armed forces in 1943. He was with the marines that stormed the island of Iwo Jima in 1945. The flag they raised was the first American flag to fly over Japanese soil in WWII.

Photos were taken to document the event. The photo that included Harlon was soon seen all over the world. Harlon did not leave Iwo Jima alive.

When his mother Belle saw the Flag Raising Photo in the Weslaco Newspaper on Feb. 25, she exclaimed, "That's Harlon" pointing to the figure on the far right. But the US Government had mistakenly identified the figure as Harry Hansen of Boston. Belle never wavered in her belief that it was Harlon insisting, "I know my boy." No one--not her family, neighbors, the Government or the public--had any reason to believe her. But eighteen months later in a sensational front-page story, a Congressional investigation revealed that it was Harlon in the photo, proving that indeed, Belle Brantley Block did "know her boy."

Harlon Block is buried beside the Iwo Jima Monument in Harlingen, Texas.



	Harlon Block The movie, Flags of our Fathers, by Clint Eastwood that is currently in theatres has a Brantley descendent in the storyline. Harlon Block, the son of Belle Brantley Block, and the great grandson of John David (Tobe) Brantley, is one of the marines in the photo seen around the world in 1945 that pictured soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima. Harlon was killed in action shortly after the photo was taken. He is portrayed actor Benjamin Walker in the film and his mother Belle Brantley Block is played by Judith Ivey. This is a story that my mother, Zoie Brantley Durham, had told me about her first cousin Belle Brantley and her son several decades ago. She gave me some newspaper clippings from 1945 that reported the incident. Harlon and several of his class mates at Weslaco High School in south Texas were allowed to graduate early so they could join the armed forces in 1943. He was with the marines that stormed the island of Iwo Jima in 1945. The flag they raised was the first American flag to fly over Japanese soil in WWII. Photos were taken to document the event. The photo that included Harlon was soon seen all over the world. Harlon did not leave Iwo Jima alive. When his mother Belle saw the Flag Raising Photo in the Weslaco Newspaper on Feb. 25, she exclaimed, "That's Harlon" pointing to the figure on the far right. But the US Government had mistakenly identified the figure as Harry Hansen of Boston. Belle never wavered in her belief that it was Harlon insisting, "I know my boy." No one--not her family, neighbors, the Government or the public--had any reason to believe her. But eighteen months later in a sensational front-page story, a Congressional investigation revealed that it was Harlon in the photo, proving that indeed, Belle Brantley Block did "know her boy." Harlon Block is buried beside the Iwo Jima Monument in Harlingen, Texas.