Flight Officer John Lyle (1920 – 2019) was an American

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

pilot and a member of the famed group of

-era

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s known as the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

. Dickson flew 26 combat missions during WWII. He had a lifelong love of sailing and over the course of his life he owned seven different boats. He was nicknamed Captain Jack for his love of sailing.

Military service

Lyle graduated from Englewood High School on Chicago's Southside and in 1943 joined the military. He did not want to be a foot soldier so he pursued flying. After graduating from the Tuskegee Institute as a Flight Officer he was assigned to the European theatre. He flew 26 combat missions over Italy, Austria and Germany. Lyle, named his plane “Natalie” after his first wife. During the war he shot down a German Messerschmitt.

Awards

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

2007

Education

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

1944

Personal life

Lyle was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. He graduated from Englewood High School and in 1943 joined the military. He did not want to be a foot soldier so he pursued flying. Lyle married Eunice and was a stepfather to her 3 children. After the war, he became a police officer with the Chicago Park District and also started a tree-trimming company. He had prostate cancer at the end of his life. His wife Eunice said that his dying wish was to sit and watch the waves of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

at Jackson Park Harbor Yacht Club. Lyle was married four times and Eunice was his fourth wife.

References

Notes

External links

Video of John LyleTuskegee Airmen
at

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was d ...

Tuskegee Airmen Archives
at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

Libraries.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

( U.S. National Park Service)
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
*

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

(2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group) *

List of African American Medal of Honor recipients The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. Recipients must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, John 1920 births 2019 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Tuskegee Airmen Tuskegee University alumni Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama Military personnel from Illinois Businesspeople from Chicago World War II pilots 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American people