As I recall a number of men carried small flags with them to display when they had taken a position. It was a lot lighter than a radio to carry and 'flashed' the message to more people sooner.

The first flag was so far away that not everyone could see it, so a larger one had to be placed there.

How would you like to have been the guy Hat was talking about? There you are, on top of the hill, having done everything necessary to get there, and someone turns to you and asks if you would mind running back down the hill to get a bigger flag and then running back up.

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.