Michels landed on the southern end of Iwo Jima with his unit on February 19. He was wounded by shrapnel to his thumb from an enemy mortar at the base of Mount Suribachi on February 21. On February 23, Michels was part of the 40-man combat patrol that was sent at 8 AM to climb up the east slope of Mount Suribach to seize and occupy the crest. First Lieutenant Harold Schrier, who led the patrol, was to raise an American flag he was given to signal that the mountaintop was captured. Once Schrier and his men were on top, a Japanese iron water pipe was found to attach the flag unto. Lieutenant Schrier, Corporal Charles Lindberg, and Sergeant Henry Hansen, tied the flag unto the pipe while Private Phil Ward held the bottom end of the pipe horizontally off the ground. Platoon Sergeant Ernest Thomas was in among the three Marines watching, armed with his rifle and a grenade in hand, while Michels with his carbine was watching for an enemy attack on the group while this was all going on.