By Matthew Fleishman, BucksLocalNews.com

While in college, as a lifeguard on Long Beach Island, N.J., Frank Lyons would watch the Lockheed C-141 Starlifters fly off the New Jersey coast on their way to perform air drops in the Pine Barrens. Knowing that he would likely be drafted for the Vietnam War, Lyons decided to go into the service on his own terms, with the goal of one day flying one of those C-141s. Little did he know, he would witness the fall of Saigon, the invasion of Grenada, and fly missions during the Persian Gulf War.

"I said if I have to go into the service, I'm going to fly one of those things," said Lyons, who reached the rank of major in the U.S. Air Force. "It was very impressive to see them flying over the beach in formation."

To start his journey, Lyons enrolled in Air Force R.O.T.C while at Iona College, which, because of the war and a shortage of pilots, was being offered as a two-year program.

After graduating from Iona, Lyons began flight training at Craig Air Force Base in Alabama. While at the base, he finished high enough in his class to get his first choice of a flying assignment. Naturally, Lyons chose to fly the C-141 he had watched as a lifeguard.

In early 1973, after completing training, Lyons began flying five-day missions from McGuire Air Force Base to Southeast Asia, bringing supplies, munitions and troops to South Vietnam.

In October 1973, Lyons took part in "Operation Nickel Grass," which was a massive strategic airlift to resupply Israel after surprise invasions by both Syria and Egypt in what came to be called the "Yom Kippur War." Lyons said that the entire operation was staged out of the Portuguese Azores because no other country would allow the American planes to land if they were going to aid Israel's defense of its country.

"The Israelis were running out of supplies, and we were bringing munitions, which were immediately loaded onto trucks and taken to the front," said Lyons. "We were told that the rockets we brought were probably fired before we were even able to take off heading back to the Azores."

In April 1975, Lyons flew missions leading up to the fall of Saigon, taking part in "Operation Babylift" and "Operation New Life," which helped more than 100,000 refugees flee South Vietnam before the North Vietnamese Army overran the city.

"Everything was in chaos. The entire city was surrounded by nine divisions of North Vietnamese," said Lyons. "Twelve miles to the north, Soviet-built surface-to-air missiles were positioned at a former American base. To get into Tan Son Nhut [Airport] we had to descend in a tight spiral from 20,000 feet at a 60-degree bank because that was the only way we could land and avoid ground fire."

After leaving active duty in 1977, Lyons transferred to the Active Air Force Reserves, where he continued to fly the C-141. One morning in October 1983 he received a phone call, telling him to be at the base that evening for "contingency operations." Lyons was one of the pilots who flew the 82nd Airborne Division from Ft. Bragg to take part in the invasion of island-nation Grenada in the Caribbean Sea.

Seven years later, Lyons was approaching retirement from the reserves, but was placed back on active duty for Operation Desert Storm.

"I was six months away from retirement, but all of the sudden I found myself in a tent in Saudi Arabia eating MREs [Meals Ready to Eat]," said Lyons.

During the first Persian Gulf War, Lyons flew missions to the Persian Gulf from the United States, stopping at various European bases while delivering munitions for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. At the conclusion of the fighting he transported hundreds of troops returning home after the war.

When he was released from active duty following the war, Lyons retired from the Air Force. During his time in the reserves, Lyons was a commercial airline pilot, and recently bought the New Continental Tavern in Yardley Borough with his wife, daughter and son-in-law.