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Tony Stein was born to Austrian Jewish immigrants in Dayton, Ohio on 30 September 1921. He attended Kiser High School in Old North Dayton, and was involved in the Golden
Gloves Boxing Program. As a youth he was credited with saving the life of a young boy drowning in the Mad River. During the Depression he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps, and
later took a job where he trained as a tool and die maker. On 22 September 1942 he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. After the completion of boot camp and airborne training he became
a member of the elite Paramarines and served in Headquarters Company, 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. After fighting in the Vella Lavella and
Bougainville Campaigns, where Stein shot five snipers in a single day during the latter operation. While on Bougainville two Marines came up with the idea of turning a .30 cal. aircraft
machine gun into a portable squad automatic weapon. This weapon became the AN/M2 machine gun, nicknamed the "Stinger" because it had "quite a sting." When the Paramarines were disbanded
in 1944, Stein returned to Camp Pendleton.
After returning to Camp Pendleton, Stein was promoted to corporal and assigned as an assistant squad leader in Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-eighth Marines, in the newly formed Fifth
Marine Division. Assigned to "G" Company was machine gunner Sgt. Mel Grevich who had served with Stein in the Paramarines. Grevitch oversaw the building of six "Stinger" squad weapons, one
of which was assigned to Corporal Stein. On the morning of 19 February 1945 the 28th Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima. As his unit moved inland, immediately after coming ashore,
his platoon was halted by Japanese fire. Stein held his "Stinger" light machinegun on target and destroyed enemy pillbox after pillbox by charging them alone and destroying the crew inside
while firing away with his weapon. The weapons' extremely high rate of fire quickly led to him running out of ammunition. Kicking his shoes off and throwing his helmet down he ran back to
the beach to get more .30 caliber ammunition for his weapon. As he ran he picked up a wounded fellow Marine and carried him back to the beach to obtain aid. He repeated this feat no less
than 8 times, bringing a wounded man back to the beach, grabbing a few belts of ammunition to fire at Japanese pillboxes, and then returning with a smoking weapon and another wounded Marine.
Later that day he performed a rear guard action covering his unit’s withdrawal.
On 01 March 1945, following days of intense combat on Iwo Jima, Corporal Stein was killed in action while attempting to locate enemy machine gun emplacements that were holding up his company's
advance. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life" during the 19 February actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Tony Stein is buried at Calvary
Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio. (CONTINUE.... Medal of Honor Citation)
USS Stein (DE 1065) (1972-1992) was the first ship named in his honor.
(U.S. Navy photo #NH 103903 from the U.S. Naval Historical Center) |
Mike Smolinski
Clifton, N.J.
Navsource DE/FF/LCS
Archive Manager |
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19 December 1970: Seattle, Wash. - The future USS Stein (DE 1065), prepped and ready for launching. |
S. Dale Hargrave
Newport News, Va. |
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14 December 1971: the Pacific Ocean - USS Stein (DE 1065) taking water over the bow in the Pacific. Note her typical un-modernized DE-1052-class configuration.
(U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #USN 1150414 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
(U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 1150415 and #USN 1151088 from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
Mike Smolinski
Clifton, N.J.
Navsource DE/FF/LCS
Archive Manager |
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18 December 1972: the Pacific Ocean - USS Stein (DE 1065) off San Diego, California on Monday, 18 Dec. 1972.
(U.S. Navy National Archives photo #K-96763 and #K-96764 from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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28 September 1974: the Pacific Ocean - USS Stein (DE 1065), off the Hawaiian coast, with an HS-2 Sikorsky SH-3A "Sea King" hovering over her flight deck .
(U.S. Navy National Archives photo #K-105199 from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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date / location unknown |
- |
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February 1977: San Diego, Cal. - USS Stein (FF 1065) in San Diago Bay.
(Heilenday photo #1 00018A from the Heilenday Collection) |
Mark Heilenday
Virginia Beach, Va.
Captain, USN (ret.)
June 1974 - July 2004 |
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USS Reasoner (FF 1063) showing hull number 1065 vice 1063, with Stein across the pier. We (Reasoner) had just returned from a FLEETEX
where we were the "bad guys" and had painted a "5" over our "3." Stein was in the same FLEETEX and the "good guys" never took a shot at us. When we returned from the FLEETEX it
was night and the XO of Dixie (AD 14) kept trying to ward us off saying Reasoner, not Stein has the tender availability. |
Keith Ott
Captain, USN (ret.) |
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date / location unknown |
William Aylesworth |
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1984: the Pacific Ocean - Photo taken from USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) during her 1984 WestPac Cruise. This was taken during the "Tiger Cruise" transit from CONUS to Pearl Harbor |
Mike Hiscano
former MM2, USN
USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) |
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1987: An aerial port side view of the frigate USS Stein (FF 1065) underway.
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-05-06676 from the Defense Visual Information Center) |
Mike Smolinski
Clifton, N.J.
Navsource DE/FF/LCS
Archive Manager |
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1987: An aerial three quarter port side view of Stein underway.
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-05-06668 from the DVIC) |
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02 March 1987: An aerial bow view of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and its Battle
Group underway. The ships are, front row, left to right: Stein, guided missile cruiser Halsey (CG 23),
frigate USS Barbey (FF 1088); second row, guided missile destroyer USS
Callaghan (DDG 994), ammunition ship USS Mount Hood (AE 29), Kitty Hawk, combat stores
ship USS Mars (AFS 1), and guided missile frigate USS
Vandegrift (FFG 48) with the fleet oiler USS Willamette (AO 180) following.
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-10341 by PH2 Hensley from the DVIC) |
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02 March 1987: An aerial bow view of various U.S. Navy ships of the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk Battle Group underway. They are, left to right, front row,
Stein, guided missile cruiser USS Halsey (CG 23), frigate USS Barbey (FF 1088); second row, aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and
the combat stores ship USS Mars (AFS 1).
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-10712 by PH3 Martens from the DVIC) |
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02 March 1987: An aerial port bow view of the frigate Stein, the guided missile cruiser USS Halsey (CG 23) and the frigate USS
Barbey (FF 1088) underway
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-10730 by PH3 E. Martens from the DVIC) |
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02 March 1987: An aerial port bow view of Stein underway.
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-10299 by PH2 Hensley from the DVIC) |
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02 March 1987: the Pacific Ocean - USS Stein (DE 1065) underway (black and white version of previous photo).
( U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 107478 photographed by PH2 T. Hensley, from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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14 July 1987: A port bow view of Stein underway.
(U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-87-09075 from the DVIC) |
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01 August 1992: Naval Inactive ship Maintence Facility, Bremerton, Wash. - View of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington. The following ships are identifiable
(front to back): Three Agile-class minesweepers, with USS Pluck (MSO 464) as the first in the row; USS Hornet (CVS -12); USS New Jersey (BB 62); USS
Roark (FF 1053); USS Stein (FF 1065); USS Oriskany (CV 34) with a Knox-class frigate; two Asheville-class gunboats; USS Bennington (CVS 20)
with an old WWII-submarine alongside; USS Midway (CV 41) with six Knox-class frigates. The active carriers USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)
are visible in the background.
(U.S. Navy photo Digital ID #HAER WASH, 18-BREM.3-2 from the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division) |
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.. July 1994: Naval Inactive ship Maintence Facility, Bremerton, Wash. - Sailfish (USS 572),
Francis Hammond (FF 1067), Stein and
Roark (FF 1053) in mothballs at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
(Photo by Gilbert Gyssels). |
Gilbert Gyssels |
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27 July 1996: Naval Inactive ship Maintence Facility, Bremerton, Wash. -
Francis Hammond (FF 1067), Stein, Roark (FF 1053), and
New Jersey (BB 62) in mothballs, nested at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
(Photos by Gilbert Gyssels) |
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