 The flag was too small to be seen on the other side of the mountain where three Japanese airfields and most of the Japanese troops were located, and Johnson thought that the thousands of Marines fighting there needed the inspiration from seeing the flag.A 96 by 56 inch flag was obtained from a ship docked on shore and brought up to the top of Mount Suribachi by Pfc.Rene Gagnon the Second Battalion's runner (messenger) for E Company.