William Lyon, a major general in the U.S. Air Force and founder of a museum that displayed vintage aircraft and rare automobiles, died May 22. He was 97. The Lyon Air Museum said he passed peacefully at his home.
Lyon flew combat missions in World War II and Korea, and he was chief of the Air Force Reserve in the late 1970s. After the Korean conflict, he launched a business to build more than 75,000 homes for returning military personnel and others moving into California. In the 1980s, he became a partner in the purchase of Air Cal, a regional airline which merged with American Airlines.
He then purchased Martin Aviation, based at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, where he also established the Lyon Air Museum.
