Tony Stein and The Stinger

Tony Stein was a 24 year old marine who is most notably known for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima and the gun he used: The Stinger. Tony Stein was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions he took two days before his death in 1945.

Tony single handedly took out several Japanese pillboxes with his modified aircraft machine gun that was invented by a couple of innovative marines some months before. Due to this machine gun firing bullets at a higher rate of fire than most land based weapons, Tony was forced to return, under fire, for ammo 8 times. On his way back for ammo he grabbed wounded soldiers and took them to safety.

He eventually removed his helmet and shoes to expedite his movements on the battlefield, running around supporting his fellow marines by shooting up everything that was a threat.

The Stinger

The Stinger as it was unofficially called, was a browning 30 cal. AN/M2 aircraft model machine gun that had been retrofitted with a stock and carrying handle. Due to its high rate of fire (1100 rounds a minute) it would over heat quick quickly and was not suitable for most ground troop whereas in a airplane, the slipstream of air around the gun would cool it off enough to defend aircraft.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so a marine private William Colby who effectively used it against the Japanese on the Island of Bougainville in the South Pacific, created this gun to help suppress enemy fire. There were a total of six of the modified guns, one being used by Tony Stein.