AF honors fallen hero with ship renaming

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force decided May 23, to honor a fallen hero by naming the service’s newest pre-positioning vessel after Capt. David I. Lyon.

“It's a fitting tribute to have the Air Force’s newest pre-positioning vessel named after an Air Force logistician and true American patriot who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of his country,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III. “Captain Lyon answered the call by saying ‘send me,’ and exemplified the core value of service before self. I'm extremely proud that this great airman's story will become part of the legacy of this proud ship and its crew."

Lyon, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and member of the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron out of Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, died Dec. 27, 2013 in Kabul, Afghanistan, when a vehicle-born improvised explosive device was detonated near his convoy. Serving a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, Lyon was performing a combat advisory mission with Afghan National army commandos and working with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan.

Lyon was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart and the Air Force Combat Action Medal.

The dedication of the Motor Vessel David I. Lyon continues the long-standing tradition of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command by having a ship dedicated to national heroes. Lyon is the fifth Airman to receive this honor.

The MV David I. Lyon will provide responsive and agile combat support by prepositioning munitions afloat within theaters of operation in support of multiple combatant commander war-fighting and operational plan requirements. The MV David I. Lyon will provide enduring capacity for sea-based munitions movement equivalent to 78 fully loaded C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft.

While Lyon was working in Afghanistan, his wife, Capt. Dana Lyons was serving at Bagram Airfield.

When told about the decision to honor her husband with the ship renaming, she said she “was in awe and deeply honored.”

“It is quite an honor that the logistics community and the Air Force recognized the man I knew him to be … humble and selfless,” she said. “Dave’s favorite thing about being in the Air Force was feeling like he was in the fight and making a difference in the world. He would be very much honored and happy about having this vessel named after him because it allows him to still deliver to the warfighter … his legacy will live on and the mission will continue despite him being gone.”