 On February 23, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Chandler Johnson, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, ordered a platoon-size patrol to climb up 556-foot Mount Suribachi.Captain Dave Severance, E Company's commander, assembled the remainder of his Third Platoon and other members of the battalion headquarters, including two Navy corpsmen and stretcher bearers.First Lieutenant Harold Schrier, E Company's executive officer, volunteered for the mission and was handed the Second Battalion's American flag from Lt.