Soldier Honored: Niall D. Lyons

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3, 40, of Spokane, Washington, was assigned to the 3^rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. He died on October 26^th, 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 1-14^th 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 3^rd Battalion, 160^th 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.