Soldier Honored: Niall D. Lyons
Hometown: Spokane, Washington
Branch of Service: Army
Rank: Chief Warrant
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3, 40, of Spokane, Washington, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. He died on October 26th, 2009, of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye um, Afghanistan.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 graduated from Shadle Park High School in 1988, and after earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from Eastern Washington University in 1995. He spent three years as a soldier before being accepted into the Army Warrant Officer program, where he graduated from flight school in 1999. In 2003, he was assigned to 1-14th Aviation Battalion as an instructor pilot and in 2006, he was also assigned as an instrument examiner. After a successful assessment in 2009, he was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) in Savannah, Georgia. He was a combat veteran with two deployments.
His decorations include over 15 medals. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lyons is survived by his son, his parents, and his three siblings.