Tony Stein

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.

Biography Stein was born in Dayton, Ohio, on September 30, 1921, to Steve (formerly called Istvan) and Rose née Brandulek, Jewish immigrants from Erdevik, Austria-Hungary (now Serbia), and attended Kiser High School there. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve 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. 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 5th Marine Division.