Kathleen Bruyere, was born in Norfolk, VA, in 1944, Kathy, and enlisted in the Navy in 1966. Shortly after enlisting, she wed a fellow sailor and then broke with tradition by staying in the service at a time when most women resigned after getting married.
By 1975, though, Bruyere was a Lieutenant Commander and the first female officer to serve as the flag secretary to an admiral commanding an operational staff. For this distinction, she was one of 12 women named by Time magazine as Person of the Year for 1975, and was featured on the cover. Two years later, she was one of six officers who sued the Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of Defense over limited and unfair prospects for promotion for women, a case that she eventually won.
Bruyere retired in 1994 and settled in San Diego with her husband, who died in 2009. After his passing, she became a volunteer at Miramar National Cemetery where he was buried. Speaking to a newspaper in 2017 about her role at the cemetery, she said, “I’ve been there, you know, what they are going through. Yes, we keep a lot of Kleenex around. And, just a touch of the hand and saying, ‘I’ve been through this as well. And how can we help you?’”
Bruyere died on Sept. 3, 2020, and was interred with her husband in Section 12, Site 21 of Miramar National Cemetery. She will be featured in a film produced by San Francisco State University that is funded by a Veterans Legacy Program grant. Honor her service at her virtual Veterans Legacy Memorial page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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