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NAME
Gordon Lee Lyon, Jr.
NICKNAME
SERVICE NUMBER
O-11950
UNIT
VMF-124
Pilot
HOME OF RECORD
Indianola, MS
NEXT OF KIN
Wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Wood Lyon
DATE OF BIRTH
1920
ENTERED SERVICE
1941
DATE OF LOSS
February 14, 1943
REGION
Solomon Islands
CAMPAIGN / AREA
Bougainville
CASUALTY TYPE
Missing In Action
Declared Dead February 15, 1944
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS
Lieutenant Gordon L. Lyon, Jr., was a Marine fighter pilot assigned to VMF-124. He flew combat missions out of Guadalcanal in support of the campaign for the northern Solomon Islands.

On 14 February 1943, VMF-124 was assigned to provide an escort for heavy bombers striking Japanese ships off Bougainville. In the ensuing “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” eight American aircraft were lost. One was F4U-1 02187, piloted by Lt. Lyon, which collided with a Zero and then crashed.Lieutenant Lyon was declared dead on 15 February 1944.

INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS
Purple Heart
LAST KNOWN RANK
Second Lieutenant
(posthumous First Lieutenant)
STATUS OF REMAINS
Not recovered
MEMORIALS
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Biography:
Coming soon. Contact the webmaster for more information about this Marine.


Articles & Records:

2 thoughts on “Gordon L. Lyon, Jr.”

  1. Evelyn Lee Robinson

    I am his niece and very very proud of my uncle. He was a brave young man to do all that he did.

  2. That’s awesome…and you should be proud…such a courageous young man…at 22 I was trying to be a rock star drummer in L.A…RIP to your uncle

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