Richard "Dick" Lyon (July 14, 1923 – February 3, 2017) was a United States Navy

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and mayor of

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

Early life and education

Lyon was born in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, were he attended high school with friend and fellow classmate

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

. As a youth, he was a selected member of the United States Olympic swim team for the

1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo City, Empire of Japan. They were rescheduled for Helsinki, Finland, to be held from ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, but the 1940 games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II. Lyon graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1944 and that year he was captain of the Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving team with a season record of 10-0. He earned a master's degree from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1953.

Naval career

Lyon attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Midshipmen's School, receiving his commission in the United States Navy in October 1944. He served as a Navy Scout and Raider in the Pacific Theatre and in China as an Intelligence Officer. He was released from active duty in 1946, subsequently joining the Naval Reserve. He returned to active duty in early 1951 he commissioned the

Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII func ...

Five, and served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

until late 1952. Upon release, he resumed his Reserve participation. In July 1974, Lyon became the first admiral from the

Naval Special Warfare The United States Naval Special Warfare Command (USNSWC), also known as (NAVSPECWARCOM and WARCOM), is the United States Navy, naval component of United States Special Operations Command, the Unified Combatant Command, unified command responsib ...

community in the history of the Navy. Lyon was a graduate of both the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

and the Naval War College. He was the first Reserve officer to be appointed to the board of directors of the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

, where he served as chairman of the editorial board. He has received decorations for the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Navy Commendation Medal and Combat Action Ribbon. He returned to active duty as Deputy Chief of Naval Reserve in July 1978, and retired in July 1983 at the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

after nearly 41 years of naval service.

Political career

Lyon was elected mayor of the City of Oceanside in November 1992, and was re-elected in 1996.

Personal life

Lyon was a private pilot and an avid sailor, body-surfer and golfer. He was married to Cynthia Gisslin, and had nine children. He resided in Oceanside from 1981 until his death in February 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Richard 1923 births 2017 deaths United States Navy admirals United States Navy SEALs personnel United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from California Mayors of places in California Columbia University alumni Stanford University alumni National War College alumni Naval War College alumni People from Pasadena, California People from Oceanside, California