The Wall › Panel 45E › California › Donavan Loren Lyon
DONAVAN LOREN LYON
Lieutenant Colonel · U.S. Air Force
November 1, 1934 – March 22, 1968
Service recordDonavan Loren Lyon, of Hollywood, California, served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on March 22, 1968, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 45E, Line 58 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 45E · Line 58
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Pilot (1115F)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 559 TFS
- Born
- November 1, 1934
- Home of record
- Hollywood, California (Los Angeles County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- March 22, 1968
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
43 names on the Wall carry the date March 22, 1968. In March 1968, 1,767 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 45E, Line 58
- ROBERT LUNASergeant · March 22, 1968
- JULIUS MADDOXPrivate First Class · March 22, 1968
- RALPH WARREN MANEYSergeant · March 22, 1968
- BRIAN SCOTT PERLEWITZSpecialist Four · March 22, 1968
From Hollywood
- ALLAN LADD ELMOREPrivate First Class · March 21, 1966
- JOHN PAUL SCOGGINSSpecialist Four · February 27, 1967
- JAMES MICHAEL QUIGLEYCorporal · May 9, 1967
- FRED EUGENE TATELance Corporal · May 10, 1967
- MARK ALAN WHITTPrivate First Class · July 2, 1967
- BERNARD STEVEN RYANSergeant First Class · February 2, 1968
- KIM WILLIAM FLETCHERSpecialist Four · June 10, 1968
- FREDDIE KAY MARTINSergeant · August 20, 1968
- JOHN LOVE JRStaff Sergeant · May 12, 1969
- PATRICK WILLIAM DWYERPrivate First Class · May 21, 1969
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.