Anthony A. Less

Anthony Albert Less was born on August 31, 1937, in Salem, Ohio, to Mildred and Joseph Less. He was the oldest of nine children, with five brothers and three sisters, and the youngest brother was born when Tony was 16. The family farmed about 300 acres near Leetonia, mostly apples and sweet corn, and he took on heavy chores and drove a tractor from an early age.

He attended St. Patrick's School in Leetonia through the eighth grade. At Leetonia High School he was quarterback and placekicker for the 1954 Leetonia Bears, an unbeaten league champion, and teammates remembered him as a natural leader. He graduated in 1955. As a teenager he took his first airplane rides in a small Cessna flown by Ed Tesner, a business friend of his uncle and grandfather.

Less attended Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, where he studied chemistry and played football, basketball and baseball. During his junior or senior year he met Navy recruiters on campus, went to Naval Air Station Grosse Ile in Michigan for testing, and was accepted into the Naval Aviation Officer Candidate Program. He received his commission as an ensign in April 1960 and his naval aviator wings in June 1961.

After flight training, Less flew the A-4 Skyhawk with VA-43, VA-86 (aboard USS Independence) and VA-44, then the A-7 Corsair II with VA-174 and VA-105. With VA-105 aboard USS Kitty Hawk he flew combat missions in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He became executive officer of VA-12 in April 1971 and commanded it from June 1972 to October 1973.

After the deadly 1973 season, the Navy made the Blue Angels a formal squadron with a commanding officer, and Less was its first, serving from November 1973 to January 1976. He rebuilt the team and moved it from the F-4 Phantom to the A-4 Skyhawk.

He went on to command Carrier Air Wing Nine (1976 to 1977), USS Wichita (1979 to 1981) and USS Ranger (1982 to 1983). As a flag officer he led Carrier Group One in 1987 and Joint Task Force Middle East from January 1988 to April 1989, directing Operation Praying Mantis during Operation Earnest Will. His last command, from 1991 to 1994, was Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He retired on May 1, 1994, after 34 years of service and worked in government positions on military programs until 2007.

In July 1973 a training accident near Lakehurst, New Jersey, killed three members of the Blue Angels, including flight leader Lieutenant Commander Skip Umstead. Navy leadership chose to keep the team but reorganize it as the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron with a designated commanding officer. Less, then flying A-7s off Southeast Asia, received the call and reported to the team within days. He assembled a new team from survivors and new pilots, switched the squadron to the smaller A-4 Skyhawk and led the 1974 and 1975 show seasons. His brother Jerry recalled that two hours after a show Tony's hands were still shaking from the strain of flying. Former teammates John Chehansky, Jerry Tucker and Denny Sapp later described his leadership, skill in the cockpit and calm presence.

Less was married to Leanne Less, and the couple lived in Clifton, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. As a high school football player he and nine Catholic teammates drove to Friday Mass in his 1947 Ford. His brother Jerry visited him aboard USS Ranger and later shared family memories of his career.

Less spoke modestly about his own achievements. Of his Navy entrance testing he said, "I guess I did OK, because they took a chance on me." Those who served with him stressed his confidence in his people. When his brother asked how he could be sure a young F-14 pilot low on fuel would land on a fourth try aboard Ranger, he answered, "Because he has to." The pilot landed safely. In retirement he advised the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and led the Association of Naval Aviation.

Less is remembered as the officer who steadied the Blue Angels at their lowest point and set the command structure the squadron still uses. His 1988 command in the Persian Gulf is studied as a key moment in the tanker war, and Operation Praying Mantis remains a landmark surface action. In his hometown, the Leetonia Sons of the American Legion honored him with a public Independence Day tribute in 2021, and the Blue Angel Phantoms published a memorial tribute after his death.

Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Navy Distinguished Service Medal with gold star in lieu of second award; Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; Legion of Merit with gold star; Air Medal with 10 strike/flight awards; Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V; Joint Meritorious Unit Award; Navy Unit Commendation; Navy E Ribbon. He made about one thousand carrier arrested landings.

On July 3, 1988, while Less commanded Joint Task Force Middle East, the cruiser USS Vincennes mistook Iran Air Flight 655, an Airbus A300, for an Iranian F-14 fighter and shot it down over the Strait of Hormuz. All 290 passengers and crew, including 65 children, were killed. The incident was the subject of a case brought by Iran before the International Court of Justice.

Anthony Less died on October 13, 2026, aged 89. His obituary lists him as of Clifton, Virginia; the cause of death has not been made public. Visitation is planned for November 5, 2026, at Money and King Funeral Home in Vienna, Virginia, and a Mass of Christian Burial for November 6, 2026, at St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Clifton, to be livestreamed. Interment will take place at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery.