A Vietnam veteran was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame on Friday for making significant contributions to the advancement of aviation.
John Dyer served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. As part of the 89th Airlift Wing, he flew high-ranking members of the U.S. Government.
He was one of three people who were a part of the 2026 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame induction.
Dyer also received the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award back in 2022, which is the most prestigious honor the FAA presents to pilots, recognizing those with 50 or more years of safe flight operations and aviation professionalism.
On Nov. 15, 2025, the City of Houston also proclaimed "John Dyer Day,” recognizing his achievements and contributions to the Houston community through aviation.
Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Dyer believes that “Nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy.”
Dyer logged more than 21,000 flight hours, which included flying for Continental Airlines and FedEx until he retired from commercial aviation in 2009.
The other inductees that were included in the 2026 list included former NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar and Meg Loreno, who was a City of Houston airport executive and pilot.
The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame was established in 1995 through a resolution by the 74th Texas Legislature and signed by then Gov. George W. Bush to honor and recognize Texans and Texas companies or organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions to the advancement of aviation, according to its website.
There are now more than 100 individuals and groups in the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in four categories, which include trailblazers and explorers, wartime aviators, leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.
Past leaders include Eileen Collins, who was a NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel, and Bessie Coleman, who was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license.
Others include Lloyd Bentsen Jr., who was a U.S. Senator and the Democrat nominee for vice president in 1988 after serving as a commander of a B-24 squadron in the 449th Bomb Group, and flew 35 missions over Europe in World War II and Orvon “Gene” Autry who during World War II, qualified to fly 16 different Army Air Force aircrafts and flew the hazardous supply routes over the Himalayas known as “the Hump.”
