Operations Specialist 2nd Class Nehamon Lyons IV, from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and served until his life was cut short when the Pentagon came under attack on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

One of the 2,996 victims who lost their lives on 9/11, Lyons' memory still lives on 16 years later in the Navy amongst those he impacted.

Senior Chief Operations Specialist Scott McClain is one of the Sailors who served with Lyons on the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), and as McClain continues his service aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83), he still remembers the impression Lyons made on him.

"He was a great guy," said McClain. "He was really friendly and funny, always willing to help out with anything that I needed. He taught me a lot about being an OS [operations specialist] and a lot about CIC [combat information center] on the cruiser."

After completing his first tour aboard Gettysburg, Lyons transferred to his second duty station in Arlington, Virginia - the Pentagon.

"I remember that he was so excited about his new assignment and we all thought it was great and we were all super happy for him," said McClain. "We found out about a week after the attacks that he was killed when the plane hit the Pentagon. The entire crew was rocked. He was a guy that everyone knew and liked."

Deployed at the time of the attack, the crew of Gettysburg held a memorial service for Lyons. For McClain, the attack and the loss of his former shipmate changed the way he saw his career.

"It changed how I viewed my job in the Navy after that because the attacks really hit home and showed me the importance of what we were doing out there," said McClain. "9/11 will always be a sad day for me and is the core foundation of why I stayed in and kept fighting and continue trying to do the right thing."

Lyons was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

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