Tony Stein
| Tony Stein | |
|---|---|
 
Tony Stein, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient
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| Born |
September 30, 1921 Dayton, Ohio |
| Died | March 1, 1945 (aged 23) KIA on Iwo Jima |
| Place of burial | Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Regiment, 3rd Marine Division 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War II • Land Battle of Vella Lavella • Bougainville Campaign • Battle of Iwo Jima |
| Awards |
Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Tony Stein (September 30, 1921 – March 1, 1945) was a United States Marine who posthumously received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. He received the award for repeatedly making single-handed assaults against the enemy and for aiding wounded Marines during the initial assault on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. He was killed in action ten days later.
Stein was born in Dayton, Ohio, on September 30, 1921, to a family of Austrian Jewish immigrants, and attended Kiser High School there. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on September 22, 1942.
Stein was a member of the elite Paramarines from the end of his recruit training until the Paramarines were disbanded in 1944. Assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Stein fought in the Vella Lavella and Bougainville Campaigns, shooting five snipers in a single day during the latter operation. A toolmaker prior to the war, Stein customized a .30 caliber M1919 Browning machine gun from a wrecked Navy fighter plane into a highly effective personal machine gun he nicknamed the "Stinger". After the Paramarines were disbanded, Stein returned to Camp Pendleton, California, where he was promoted to corporal and assigned as an assistant squad leader to Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Marines in the newly formed the 5th Marine Division.
On February 19, 1945, he took part in the amphibious landings which began the Battle of Iwo Jima. As his unit moved inland, he stormed a series of hostile pillboxes using his "stinger" and made eight trips back to the beach to retrieve ammunition, each time taking a wounded Marine with him. It was for his actions on this day that he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
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