Thomas L. Lyons

Colonel Thomas Locke Lyons entered the Army on 18 June 1941, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1942, upon graduation from the Infantry OCS at Fort Benning, Georgia. He then joined the 313th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division, and remained with that unit throughout World War II, participating in five campaigns in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. | In July 1946, as a captain, Colonel Lyons was integrated into the Regular Army in the Transportation Corps, spending the next four years at the Transportation School, Fort Eustis, Virginia, both as a student and as an instructor. From May 1950 to July 1953, he was stationed at Heidelberg, Germany, with Headquarters of the Armed Forces there. During this period he attended many transportation planning conferences in formulating NATO transportation policies. He returned to the United States to attend and graduate from the Army Command and General Staff College in 1954, after which he was selected for Army General Staff duty in the Pentagon. He served there for three years with the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics. On 3 August 1955 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. | In July 1957, Colonel Lyons entered the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and was graduated in June 1958. After a brief tour in Orleans, France, Colonel Lyons assumed command of the 106th Transportation Battalion, La Rochelle, France, with six companies stationed throughout Southwestern France. He later became Deputy Commander of the Port Area Command, having jurisdiction over the busy Ports of Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and St. Nazaire. | Upon his return to the States in 1961, he was selected as one of the few senior officers to take flight training, completing fixed-wing training in June 1962 and helicopter training in January 1963. On 26 June 1962 he had been advanced to full colonel, on the advanced promotion list. From January 1963 until June 1964, Colonel Lyons was Director of Maintenance at Atlanta Army Depot. His next post was with the Joint Chiefs of Staff where he served as the Chief of Transportation Division, J-4, and later as Deputy Special Assistant for Strategic Mobility to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In May 1966, Colonel Lyons became the Director of Transportation, 1st Logistical Command, Vietnam. Colonel Lyons assumed command of Sharpe Army Depot, Lathrop, California, 19 June 1967, which he commanded until 5 July 1969. On 31 July 1969 Colonel Lyons became Chief of Staff, United States Army Transportation Center and Fort Eustis, Fort Eustis, Virginia. | Colonel Lyonsawards and decorations include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and V device, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, French Croix de Guerre, French Medaille de Merite Civile in the grades of Knight, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, as well as numerous service awards. | He was a member of the Association of the United States Army; past president of the Atlanta Chapter, Army Aviation Association of America; past president of Orleans, France, Saigon, Vietnam, and San Joaquin Valley Chapters, National Defense Transportation Association; member of National Board of the Army Aviation Association of America; Advisor to the National Board of the Zero Defects Association of America; and the recipient of the NDTA Distinguished Service Award.