His first glimpse of the world’s wickedness.

[**The following takes place during the Bougainville Campaign in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.**] >But [Harlon Block](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Harlon_Block.jpg) saw plenty of reality when he fought near “Hellzapoppin’ Ridge.” Arriving at the battle site, Harlon moved in a macabre world of splintered trees and burned-out brush. The earth was a churned mass of mud and human bodies. The streams were filled with blasted corpses. Dead Japanese snipers hung from trees. Harlon, the Seventh-Day Adventist, was getting his first glimpse of the world’s wickedness as he trudged past these remains of friends and enemy dead. >Nor were the Japanese through. As the Marines moved forward, a Japanese machine gun stuttered and the enemy artillery roared, raking the American line. A Japanese counterattack slammed into the Marines’ left flank. Harlon Block found himself in close-up combat, hand to hand and tree to tree. With knife, gun, and bare hands, the Texas pass-catcher fought in the confusion of English and Japanese screams. His clear-cut world of right and wrong had dissolved into a brutish fight for survival. The survivors on both sides eventually withdrew to endure another night and fight another day. __________________________ **Source:** Bradley, James, and Ron Powers. “Call of Duty.” *Flags of Our Fathers*. Bantam Dell, a Division of Random House, Inc., 2006. 87. Print. ______________________________ **Further Reading:** [Harlon Henry Block](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlon_Block) [Battle of Hellzapoppin Ridge and Hill 600A](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hellzapoppin_Ridge_and_Hill_600A) [Bougainville Campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainville_Campaign)