What is Kathleen Byerly?
[[File:CDR Kathleen M. Byerly, USN.jpg|right|200px]] '''Kathleen M. Bruyere''' (née '''Donahue''', previously '''Byerly'''; 5 February 1944{{spnd}}3 September 2020) was an American military [[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. In May 1975, she became the first female [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] in the Navy to became 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. Byerly was born in [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. She died of [[cancer]] on 3 September 2020 in [[San Diego, California]] at the age of 76.<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> ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Byerly, Kathleen}} [[Category:1944 births]] [[Category:2020 deaths]] [[Category:Cancer deaths in California]] [[Category:Military people from Virginia]] [[Category:People from Norfolk, Virginia]] {{US-bio-stub}}