Tony Stein enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942, becoming a Paramarine.
Paramarines were an experiment to test the idea of dropping Marines into battle. His regiment saw plenty of combat. In the Solomon Islands northeast of Australia, Tony took out 5 snipers in a single day.
Tony was reassigned to the Third Marine Division in 1944. He had been a toolmaker before the war, and he worked with an armorer to modify an aircraft machine gun from a dive bomber. Called âStinger,â the weapon had twice the rate of fire of the Browning .30 caliber infantry machine gun.
Stingerâs heavy rate of fire meant Tony quickly ran out of ammo. So he kicked off his boots and helmet so he could move fast on the sand, and headed back to the beach for more ammo.
On his way he picked up a wounded Marine, carrying him back for treatment.
He made this trip 8 times, each time bringing a wounded man back to the beach and grabbing more belts of ammunition.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTERMILITARY.COM
