second flag and the lowering of the first flagstaff. The second flag was raised by Sgt. Strank, Cpl. Block, Pfc. Hayes, Pfc. Sousley, Pfc. Harold Schultz, 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. Death 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