Notable Combat Actions
Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates made worldwide news twice during the 1980s. Despite being small, these frigates were shown to be extremely durable. During the Iran–Iraq War, on 17 May 1987, the USS Stark was attacked by an Iraqi warplane. Struck by two Exocet anti-ship missiles, thirty-seven American sailors died in the deadly prelude to the American Operation Earnest Will, the reflagging and escorting of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. Less than a year later, on 14 April 1988, the Samuel B. Roberts was nearly sunk by an Iranian mine. No lives were lost, but 10 sailors were evacuated from the warship for medical treatment. The Roberts crew battled fire and flooding for 2 days, ultimately managing to save the ship. The U.S. Navy retaliated four days later with Operation Praying Mantis, a one-day attack on Iranian oil platforms being used as bases for raids on merchant shipping. Those had included bases for the minelaying operations that damaged the Samuel B. Roberts. Both frigates were repaired in American shipyards and returned to full service. The USS Stark was decommissioned in 1999, and scrapped in 2006.
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“Many of us, whether in the jungles of Asia or on the streets of Chicago, had discovered that noble causes can lead to ignoble actions and that we were capable of sacrificing honor to a sense of efficacy.”
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