Myers recognizes 'Operation Smile' stalwart

  • Published
  • By Jim Garamone
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  A retired major general received the Chairman's Distinguished Public Service Award on May 10 in part for a smile -- Operation Smile.

Retired Maj. Gen. William Lyon received the award from Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a Pentagon ceremony. General Lyon served as the chief of the Air Force Reserve from 1975 to 1979.

General Lyon received the award for his continued service to the nation following his retirement. Part of that is his support for Operation Smile. The group provides free reconstructive surgery to children and young adults worldwide. It has been involved in providing surgery for the children of Iraq and Afghanistan, and has worked to train Iraqi surgeons in the latest medical techniques.

"Your service has made a difference to people around the world," General Myers said during the award presentation.

Besides helping fund Operation Smile, General Lyon also endowed a professorship in ethics at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., -- the first such position in the military academies. He also works with the academy's research and development institute which funds visiting professors to the school.

He and his wife have been involved in Boy Scouts, the Orange County, Calif., Performing Arts Center and the Orangewood Children's Foundation.

General Lyon tried to enlist in the Navy right after Pearl Harbor, but the service would not take him. In 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and flew in Europe and Asia. He remained in the Reserve following the war and flew in Korea, where he received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

General Lyon held a number of commands and jobs in California and rose to be the chief of the Air Force Reserve.

"I know you worked very hard to make sure the Air Force Reserve and the active duty Air Force were integrated the way they needed to be," General Myers said. "You instituted many changes."

General Lyon, 82, still flies a Gulfstream 4 business jet and owns an enviable collection of old warplanes and classic automobiles. He had a successful business career in Southern California where he built more than 100,000 homes the past 50 years.

He also bought and ran an airline, and has served on numerous company boards.

Operation Smile is one of General Lyon's signature charities. The group has been around since 1982 and has provided free surgery for thousands of children and young adults from the Philippines to Central America. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the group has paid for numerous surgeries to correct cleft palates, reconstructive surgery and surgeries to help burn victims.

The group also is training Iraqi surgeons who missed a whole generation of medical education under Saddam Hussein.

"It's not just getting the surgery done, it's the whole medical process -- the delivery of medical services," General Myers said.

The chairman called the work Operation Smile surgeons and trainers are doing "critically important." He said that humanitarian aid is "just as important as having our folks on patrol rounding up insurgents. It's the fabric of what it's going to take to be successful in the world we live in today."

General Lyon said the award was an unexpected honor. He also said he has plans to continue his service.

"When we were first married, I made two promises to my wife," General Lyon said. "I said I'm never going to quit flying and never going to retire. I've certainly proved both to her."