Anthony Albert Less (born August 31, 1937) is a

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He was Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1991 to 1994. He is an alumnus of

Leetonia High School Leetonia High School (LHS) is a public high school in Leetonia, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Leetonia Exempted Village School District. Athletic teams compete as the Leetonia Bears in the Ohio High School Athletic Associ ...

Leetonia, Ohio Leetonia is a village in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,833 at the 2020 census. It is about south of Youngstown. History The Village of Leetonia was founded in 1869, following the American Civil War. Leetonia was ...

and

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in Seneca County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Developed along the Sandusky River, Tiffin is located about southeast of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 17,953 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. After flight training, Less was designated a

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in June 1961. He then served with VA-43, VA-86 and VA-44 flying the

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, and later, McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D und ...

. VA-86 was deployed on the carrier based at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. Transitioning to the

A-7 Corsair The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

, he served with VA-174, VA-105 and then VA-174 again. VA-105 was deployed on the carrier for combat operations in Southeast Asia during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. In April 1971, Less joined

VA-12 Attack Squadron 12 (VA-12), also known as the "Flying Ubangis" or "Clinchers", was an attack squadron of the United States Navy active during the Cold War. From their home port at Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Florida, the squadron made ...

and became executive officer. He then served as commanding officer of the squadron from June 1972 to October 1973. Less served as commanding officer of the Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron from November 1973 to January 1976. He then joined

Carrier Air Wing Nine Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The Air Wing is currently assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The Tail Code of aircraft assigned to ...

, serving as commander from August 1976 to December 1977. Less served as the commanding officer of the replenishment oiler from December 1979 to July 1981 and the carrier from June 1982 to July 1983. Promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, he was given command of Carrier Group One from August 1987 to December 1987 and Joint Task Force Middle East from January 1988 to April 1989. It was at this time that he launched

Operation Praying Mantis Operation Praying Mantis was the 18 April 1988 attack by the United States on Iranian naval targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a U.S. warship four days earlier. On 14 April, the American guided missile frigate stru ...

(in May 1998) as a response in

Operation Earnest Will Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was an American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest na ...

to the damage sustained by , which had run upon a mine laid by the Iranian navy. He was characterized as "more aggressive" than his predecessor at the

Middle East Force United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the ...

, RAdm

Harold Bernsen Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts ...

. Less "went so far as to identify the arget the

ranian Ranian is a village located in the Ludhiana West tehsil, of Ludhiana district, Punjab. Administration The village is administrated by a Sarpanch who is an elected representative of village as per constitution of India and Panchayati raj (India ...

frigate

Sabalan Sabalan ( Persian: سبلان) or Savalan ( native: ساوالان ) is an inactive stratovolcano in northwestern Iran located in Ardabil province. At above sea level, it is the third-highest mountain in Iran. A permanent crater lake has fo ...

, as its captain had ordered the cold-blooded machine-gunning of survivors of sunken tankers." As the result of the operation, "Iranian losses were three oil platforms heavily damaged, six surface vessels sunk, one heavily damaged, and an unknown number of casualties. American losses were one AH-1T attack helicopter and its two-man crew. Iranian attacks on merchant shipping dramatically fell after that." Operation Earnest Will, which had been launched in the wake of

Resolution 598 United Nations Security Council resolution 598 S/RES/0598 (1987), (UNSC resolution 598) adopted unanimously on 20 July 1987, after recalling Resolution 582 and 588, called for an immediate ceasefire between Iran and Iraq and the repatriation of ...

, was successfully completed on 28 September 1988 after the Iranian government had earlier decided to sue for peace in the Iran-Iraq War. Less was the Commander when on 3 July 1988, , mistook

Iran Air Flight 655 Iran Air Flight 655 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas that was shot down on 3July 1988 by two surface-to-air missiles fired by , a United States Navy warship. The missiles hit the Iran Air ...

for an Iranian F-14 and shot it down over the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

. All 290 passengers and aircrew aboard the

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

A300B2 died, including 65 children or infants.Islamic Republic of Iran
Memorial of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Case Concerning the Aerial Incident of 3July 1988 (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America)
. p. 15. 24 July 1990. His awards include the

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to Sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorio ...

(with gold star in lieu of second award),

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

(with oak leaf cluster in lieu of second award),

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(with gold star in lieu of second award),

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

with 10 strike/flight awards, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V", joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Commendation and Navy "E" Ribbon. In retirement he served a stint as President of the Association of Naval Aviation.

References

1937 births Living people People from Salem, Ohio Heidelberg University (Ohio) alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal {{US-navy-bio-stub