Winter knows from Yates that Irwin's ultimate goal is to raise the American flag upside down, a classic signal of distress. Irwin's men create havoc, but ultimately are confronted by overwhelming numbers of guards armed with live ammunition. The colonel orders the men to lay down, but they refuse. He orders them again, telling them that the sharpshooters that are in place above them will fire if they do not obey. Just before he gives the order, Irwin orders his fellow prisoners to lay down. The colonel then tells Irwin to give him back his flag, to which Irwin replies, "It's not your flag." Irwin then turns and begins walking toward the flagpole in order to raise the flag. The colonel, increasingly unsettled, tells Irwin, "You will not raise that flag upside down." But Irwin continues to walk, while the colonel continues to order him not to raise the flag upside down. Seeing that he is having no effect on Irwin, the colonel orders the shooters to fire on Irwin, but they do not. He orders them again and again, trying to stop Irwin from raising the flag upside down. But after Winter's men, including Captain Peretz, disobey his orders and refuse to kill Irwin, Winter fatally shoots Irwin in the back as he lifts the flag. As his life ebbs away, Irwin continues to raise the flag.