Alaska Highway. H&S Company. Born: 1 July 1917, New Britain, CT. Died: 19 July 1999, Johnson City, Washington, TN. Enlisted: 14 July 1941 Hartford, CT. He lived in Syosset, New York before moving to Johnson City in 1981.
Education: Four years at New Britain High School, Norwich, CT. He attended Academy Vesper George Art School in Boston; Pratt Institute, New York City; the Art Students League, New York; and East Tennessee State University. Recorded in 1940 on his WW2 draft card , he was a student at Vesper George School of Art.
Civilian occupation: He was a designer with Lester Bealle Designers and later vice president and art director for Sarg Printing Company, both of New York.
He had received many awards for his watercolors.
The segregated 97th Engineers landed at Valdez, Alaska on 29 April 1942. Three feet of snow was on the ground. The 97th built the northern section of the Alaska Highway. Lt. Lyon arrived to the Highway in January of 1943. He was assigned to the H&S Company and remained with the regiment until July 1943 when they left the road.
His father was Robert W. Lyon (1891-1944), a chauffeur for a private family, and his mother was Ethel M. Bigelow. His married Sara Horner (1917-2008) on 15 October 1943 in Washington, DC. It was written in his high school yearbook that he wore the bottom of his pants turned up high enough to show off the weird colors of his socks.
Serial #O-1106918