William Lyon opens air museum named after him

Maj. Gen. William Lyon never fails to enter an event in grand style.

But Thursday, he may have made the biggest entrance of his long — and celebrated — life.

The former head of the Air Force Reserve and one of the magnates of Orange County development, Lyon chose to arrive at the grand opening ceremony of his new Lyon Air Museum in the cockpit of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Fuddy Duddy.”

The museum adjacent to John Wayne Airport features 1930s and 1940s aircraft and automobiles, and is docented by military veterans, including many who served during World War II.

The shiny chrome and yellow Fuddy Duddy pulled up to an open hangar door directly in front of a blue ribbon, which Lyon cut with his wife, Willa Dean Lyon, after exiting the aircraft.

Lyon wore a vintage uniform, as did many guests in attendance at the 30,000-square-foot facility.

Local news anchor Ed Arnold emceed the event, which also featured an honor guard from the Los Angeles Air Force Base.

“Thank you for your dream, my friend,” fellow veteran Arnold told Lyon. “It’s absolutely magnificent.”

“This is a really special day for myself, and of course my family,” Lyon said. “This is kind of the fulfillment of a dream that I had a long time ago.”

Ten years ago, Lyon said, he was asked to help open the American Air Museum in England. While working on the project, Lyon realized that people abroad would be able to learn about the efforts of American servicemen during the war, but people in his home area wouldn’t benefit.

“The amazing thing of understanding what this is all about today is the enormous position that our country took,” Lyon said.

He said he was proud that the museum will offer its services to local school districts, to give children a first-hand view of the most important event of the 20th century.

One of its docents, 89-year-old Jack Hammett of Costa Mesa, was in Pearl Harbor on the day it was bombed; he also took part in D-Day and served in North America.

“Two thousand planes were in a stream for 100 miles,” Hammett said of D-Day.

Harry Selling, also 89, flew B-17s over Germany — and was shocked to find his plane shot to pieces around him one day, mid-air. He survived the barrage when he landed in a tree, and was taken as a prisoner of war for nine months until the war ended.

Both veterans now volunteer their time to teach youth about the war and its legacy at the Lyon Air Museum, and were present for its official launch Thursday.

“I think it’s exciting,” Selling said.

“It’s another venue for the education of our young people,” Hammett said.

The two also work with the Freedom Committee of Orange County, of which Hammett is chair, to share their memories with youth in a “living history” format.

“Our community is passing the torch of liberty to future generations,” he said.

For fellow docent and WWII veteran Ken Pruitt, volunteering at the museum also has offered him a chance to reminisce and learn from fellow veterans.

“I certainly like the idea, because it gives me a lot of time to look back and reflect,” he said. “I learn a lot more from them than I recall from my own experiences.”

He hopes to bring his grandchildren to the museum.

“This is an opportunity to see something that happened 60 years ago, because we’re losing so many veterans,” county Supervisor John Moorlach said. He worked as a youth at a similar museum in Buena Park, long since gone. He applauded Lyon for his efforts.

“This is a great testament to his commitment to the community,” Moorlach said.

The Lyon Air Museum broke ground in 2007, after the retired Air Force general realized a way to fulfill his dual passions for aviation history and for educating today’s youth about the “Greatest Generation of Aviation.” (The museum also makes for a handy place to stash his significant collection of aircraft and vehicles.)

Lyon served in Europe, the Pacific and North Africa during World War II; he went on to fly combat missions in Korea before becoming Chief of the Air Force Reserve from 1975 to 1979.

Highlights at the new museum include an authentic Helms Bakery truck, which used to make the rounds throughout the Southland in the 1940s, and a 1939 Mercedes-Benz Model G4 Offener Touring Wagon that was personally used by Adolph Hitler during World War II, until it was seized by the French army.

Bedecking the walls alongside an onsite movie theater are two large-scale maps of the European and Pacific Theaters of Operations.

For more information on the Lyon Air Museum, call (714) 210-4585 or visit lyonairmuseum.org.