Robert F Stein

Pfc Robert Stein was killed in action on 08 June 1944, serving with Company D, 5th Ranger Battalion. On June 8, 1944, the battalion pushed west from Vierville-sur-Mer toward Pointe du Hoc alongside elements of the 116th Infantry, meeting no resistance along the way. Companies B and E attempted to seize high ground near the sluice gate at Grandcamp-les-Bains but were pinned down by mortar and machine-gun fire short of the bridge, withdrawing to let follow-on infantry, tanks, and naval gunfire take the town before the Rangers moved into defensive and mop-up positions along the coast. Other companies pushed on to reinforce the fight at Pointe du Hoc, where a tragic case of friendly fire from advancing American tanks and infantry caused six casualties, two of them fatal, before the battalion continued east toward Maisy and halted for the night having met no further resistance. By day's end the battalion had inflicted losses on the enemy while suffering ten casualties of its own. Pfc Stein was killed in action that day; the report does not specify the individual circumstances.