Kathleen Byerly

Kathleen M. Bruyere (née Donahue, previously Byerly; 5 February 1944 – 3 September 2020) was an American military captain in the United States Navy. She was one of the twelve women named by Time magazine as Time Person of the Year in 1975.

In May 1975, she became the first female 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.