(Engraved on the Corps of Cadets memorial plaza at the entrance of the “quad”.)

 

As a freshman in the Corps of Cadets, this was one of several “campusologies” that Lyle Gordon had to learn and be prepared to recite when requested by his upper classmen. Little did “fish Lyle” know back in 1993 - when he learned that quote – that he would be an

example of such love. On 1-26-05, Marine Capt. LyleLyle was one of 31 service members, including five other Texans, who died when a CH-53E Super Stallion went down in a sandstorm near Ar Rutbah. Gordon– a former member of Corps Company E-2 - was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Lyle graduated from Midlothian High School in 1993 and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from A&M in December 1999. He had always wanted to attend A&M and was proud to be a member of Corps of Cadets Company E-2, the outfit in charge of caring for Reveille. “He said, ‘If I’m not in E-2, then I’m not in the Corps,’” said his mother, Mary Lyle. “That’s the kind of person he was. He had a direction.  He knew exactly what he wanted. He didn’t care if anyone followed him. He was going to do it.”

 

Lyle’s determination to become an Aggie started at an early age. When he was 13, after his family made a trip to A&M to watch a football game and see Bonfire burn, Lyle told his mother that it was the school for him. “He told me that he wanted to go to A&M,” she said. “But I told him that you don’t just decide you want to go to A&M. I told him it was quite a big deal to make that decision. But he worked hard and made it. He was the only student from this area that was accepted.”

 

While at A&M, Lyle played rugby for the school’s club team — not a surprising choice for a young man who loved to play rough. “He loved anything rough and rowdy,” his mother said. “He was in the Corps, and he loved everything like that.” Lyle also was in the Marine Reserve while in college. In addition, Lyle was a proud member of E-2. Mrs. Gordon said that Lyle felt that to be an Aggie you must be in the Corps because that’s what A&M is all about. Mrs. Gordon talked about the days she spent with Lyle’s Corps unit and said it meant a lot to the family.

 

“They wanted to come spend the day with us, just be here for us. They talked about old times. There were so many things that they got into and pranks they pulled. They had us laughing all day,” Mrs. Gordon said. “That’s true to what A&M means to us.” Charles Stocker, the Executive Officer of E-2 said, “There is a special bond between everyone who went through E-2 and the Corps of Cadets in general because we’ve been through so much together. Our hearts really go out to his family and his buddies.”

After graduation, he worked briefly as a manager at Sanderson Farms in Bryan. But a short while later, he decided to enter the Marines full time. Before going to Officer Candidates School, Lyle made one last trip to the Bryan-College Station area to say goodbye to old college buddies. It was then that he met his wife-to-be, Kaci Yates ’00. The two corresponded through letters before getting married three years ago.

 

Mrs. Gordon said Lyle’s plans were to get a 200-acre ranch and raise horses. Mrs. Gordon said Lyle loved being a pilot in the military. “He loved to fly, he loved going fast, he just loved everything about it,” she said. Ever since Lyle was a kid growing up in the small North Texas town of Midlothian, he had dreams of flying high and fast. As a thrill-seeking youngster, he must have watched the 1980s fighter pilot movie “Top Gun” hundreds of times, his mother, Mary Lyle, recalls. “‘I’m gonna fly, I’m gonna fly,’” she said. “That’s all he ever wanted.” Most recently, the 30-year-old Lyle had visions of one day blending his loves of flying and animals by owning a horse ranch. There, his piloting skills would come in handy, as he could fly high above his sprawling dream ranch while getting a bird’s-eye view of his herd.