View source for Kathleen Byerly

{{Short description|US Navy officer (1944–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Kathleen M. Bruyere
|birth_date= {{birth date|1944|2|5|df=y}}
|birth_name=Kathleen Mae Donahue 
|other_name = Kathleen Mae Byerly
|death_date= {{death date and age|df=yes|2020|9|3|1944|2|5}}
|image=File:CAPT Kathleen M. Byerly, USN.jpeg
|caption=Bruyere as a commander (1983)
|nickname=
|birth_place= [[Norfolk, Virginia]], U.S.
|death_place= [[San Diego, California]], U.S.
|placeofburial= [[Miramar National Cemetery]], San Diego, California
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= United States
|branch= {{navy|United States}}
|serviceyears=1966–1994
|servicenumber=
|rank= [[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|30px]] [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]]
|unit=
|commands=
|battles=
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}

'''Kathleen Mae Bruyere''' ({{née}} '''Donahue''', previously '''Byerly'''; 5 February 1944{{spnd}}3 September 2020) was a [[Captain (United States O-6)|captain]] in the [[United States Navy]]. She was one of the twelve women named by [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] as [[Time Person of the Year]] in 1975, representing American women (at the height of the [[Second-wave feminism|feminist movement]]). In May 1975, she became the first female [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] in the Navy to serve as the flag secretary to an admiral commanding an operational staff. In 1977, Byerly was one of six officers who sued the [[United States Secretary of the Navy ]] and the [[United States Secretary of Defense]] over their being restricted from serving on combat aircraft and ships. This led to the 1948 [[Women's Armed Services Integration Act]] being struck down as unconstitutional.

==Early life==
Kathleen Mae Donahue was born in [[Norfolk, Virginia]], on 5 February 1944,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Capt. Bruyere (1944–2020) - Obituary |newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/196790895 |access-date=13 September 2020 }}</ref>  the oldest of six children of Joseph Donahue, an Army officer,  and his wife Lucille {{nee}} Alessandroni. She had four brothers: Joseph, Paul, Timothy and Matthew, and a sister, Lucia. The family moved frequently as her father moved from assignment to assignment in the United States, Germany and Greece. She attended [[Trenton Catholic High School]] while her father was stationed at [[Fort Dix]], but completed her high school education in Germany. She entered  [[Chestnut Hill College]], from which she graduated in 1966.<ref name="Inquirer">{{cite news |title=Navy captain Kathleen Bruyere, who won the right for women to serve at sea, has died |first= Maddie |last=Hanna |date=11 September 2020 |newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer |via=Task & Purpose |url=https://taskandpurpose.com/unsung-heroes/navy-captain-kathleen-bruyere-obituary |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>

==Navy career==
Following graduation, she joined the [[United States Navy]]. In 1968, she married Kellie Byerly, a fellow naval officer. Most women resigned on getting married, but she defied the convention of the time and remained on active duty.<ref name="Inquirer" />  In May 1975, she held the rank of [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]], and was a Navy executive and aide to [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] Allen E. Hill. She was the first female [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] in the Navy to serve as the flag secretary to an admiral commanding an operational staff.<ref>{{cite book  |last1=Ebbert |first1=Jean |last2=Hall |first2=Marie-Beth |title=Crossed Currents: Navy Women from WWI to Tailhook |year=1993 |publisher=Potomac Books |page=221 |isbn=978-0-02-881022-5}}</ref><ref name="A Dozen Who Made a Difference">{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |first=Carol |last=Sutton |title=National Affairs: A Dozen Who Made a Difference |date=5 January 1976 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,947599-5,00.html |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref> Byerly was one of the twelve women named by [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] as [[Time Person of the Year]] for 1975,<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |date=3 January 1976 |title=Women of the Year: Great Changes, New Chances, Tough Choices |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947597,00.html |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19751229&id=TkUfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bdEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3256,4272562 |title=12 Women Of The Year Named By Time Magazine |page=14 |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |date=29 December 1975 |access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref> and featured on the cover.<ref name="Navy Times" /> While [[WAVES]] had served on flag officers' staffs before, her role was far more important. She headed the admiral's staff, and had the responsibility for dealing with the nine Pacific training commands.<ref name="A Dozen Who Made a Difference" />

In 1977, Byerly was one of six officers who sued the [[United States Secretary of the Navy]] and the [[United States Secretary of Defense]], arguing that their prospects for promotion had been unfairly limited by their inability to go to sea on ships.<ref name="Navy Times">{{cite news|title=Retired Navy captain and trailblazer for women's equality in the service dies at 76 |first=Diana Stancy |last=Correll |date=11 September 2020 |newspaper=Navy Times |url=https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/09/10/retired-navy-captain-and-trailblazer-for-womens-equality-in-the-service-dies-at-76/ |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref> Under the 1948, [[Women's Armed Services Integration Act]], the service secretaries had the right to discharge women without cause, and women were restricted from flying combat aircraft or serving on ships that might one day have to engage in combat. One of her fellow plaintiffs, a pilot, was told that she could deliver supplies to a ship, but not land on it.<ref name="Trailblazer">{{cite magazine |magazine=San Diego Veterans |date=March 2020 |pages=16–17 |title=Trailblazer |first=Holly |last=Shaffner |url=https://issuu.com/adminhlm/docs/san_diego_vetrans_magazine_march_2020?fr=sMjEwMjIzODY0Mg  |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref> In 1978, [[United States federal judge|United States District Judge]] [[John Sirica]] ruled that the law was unconstitutional, clearing the way for women to serve.<ref name="Navy Times" /> The ruling opened up 9,000 jobs at sea to women.<ref name="Inquirer" /> Perhaps as importantly, it gave women the opportunity to command ships.<ref name="Trailblazer"/>

Byerly did not get to serve on a warship, but she was eventually promoted to [[Captain (United States O-6)|captain]].<ref name="Trailblazer"/> She became the special assistant to the [[Chief of Naval Operations]] for women's policy, and helped prepare a 1987 study on sexism and career opportunities for women in the Navy. The following year she became the New York Recruiting District's first ever female executive officer. While there she met Thomas Bruyere, another fellow naval officer. She divorced her first husband and married Bruyere in 1988. Through her second marriage, she acquired three stepsons.<ref name="Navy Times" /><ref name="Inquirer" /> In June 1991, she assumed command of the Orlando Naval Training Center in [[Orlando, Florida]]. It had been criticized for the manner in which it had handled allegations of rape and sexual harassment, and it was slated for closure. Under her command, training of its 30,000 enlistees a year was integrated.<ref name="Navy Times" /><ref name="Trailblazer"/>

==Later life==
Bruyere retired from the Navy in 1994 and moved to [[Chula Vista, California]]. She cared for her husband, who had [[Parkinson's disease]], until his death in 2009.<ref name="Inquirer" /> She was on the boards of the local chapters of the [[Parkinson's Association]], the [[Alzheimer's Association]], the George G. Glenner Center for Memory Care and Caregiver Support, and the [[Military Officers Association of America]].<ref name="Navy Times" /> She died from cancer in [[Paradise Valley Hospital (California)|Paradise Valley Hospital]] in San Diego on 3 September 2020. Her remains were interred in [[Miramar National Cemetery]],<ref name="Inquirer" /> where she had worked for many years as a volunteer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Honoring those who honor the fallen all year round |newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-fallen-intro-20170527-story.html |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>

==Legacy== 
In 2022, Bruyere became the subject of the documentary ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15527108/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_time%2520for%2520change%2520the%2520kathy%2520 Time for Change: The Kathy Bruyere Story]'' directed by filmmaker and veteran [[Daniel Bernardi|Daniel L. Bernardi]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Bernardi |first=Daniel L. |title=Kathy Bruyere |type=Documentary, Short |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15527108/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_time%2520for%2520change%2520the%2520kathy%2520 |access-date=2024-10-25 |others=Kathleen Bruyere, Thomas Bruyere, Rex Allen Kern |publisher=El Dorado Films, Veteran Documentary Corps}}</ref> The documentary received lots of critical attention and it screened at the opening night of the 2023 GI Film Festival San Diego, where it won the Best Short Documentary award.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coddon |first=David L. |date=2023-05-12 |title=Director keeps stories of military women alive at GI Film Festival San Diego |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2023/05/12/director-keeps-stories-of-military-women-alive-at-gi-film-festival-san-diego/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15527108/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_time%2520for%2520change%2520the%2520kathy%2520 ''Time for Change: The Kathy Bruyere Story'']  opened the film festival alongside another documentary of women in the military directed by Daniel Bernardi, a feature film centred on Army nurse Jennifer Moreno titled: ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15527054/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_0_q_Ultimate%2520Sacrifices%2520Cpt.%2520Jennifer%2520Moreno Ultimate Sacrifices Cpt. Jennifer Moreno.]''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-16 |title=Documentaries recognize sacrifice, achievement of military women |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2023/05/16/documentaries-recognize-sacrifice-achievement-of-military-women |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=KPBS Public Media |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Time Persons of the Year 1951–1975}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byerly, Kathleen}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Miramar National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Chestnut Hill College alumni]]
[[Category:Female United States Navy personnel]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia]]
[[Category:People from Chula Vista, California]]
[[Category:United States Navy captains]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Trenton Catholic High School alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:Military personnel from California]]