PMC’s vice chairman and veteran Marine Gerry Byrne was honored Friday with the U.S. Navy’s top civilian accolade, the Distinguished Public Service Award.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro honored Byrne at PMC’s New York City offices — just blocks away from where Del Toro was raised in Hell’s Kitchen. Byrne served as a Marine officer in Vietnam in 1968-69, and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V.
The Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, which was established in 1951, is the highest tribute that the secretary of the Navy can bestow upon a civilian not employed by the Department of the Navy. Byrne was recognized for his commitment to supporting military and veteran communities through multiple initiatives and board memberships such as the United Services Organizations and the Intrepid Museum, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, the Fisher House Foundation and City Meals on Wheels. Byrne, who is a Fordham University Military Hall of Fame inductee and established the Marine Corps Birthday Ball with the actor and former Marine Harvey Keitel, emphasized the importance of integrity and leadership.
Byrne also spoke of his Bronx upbringing, and his time at Fordham Prep and Fordham University, having been subject to “eight years of Jesuits hammering into me what is a very important core value — integrity.” He said that going from the Jesuits to the U.S. Marine Corps in the late 1960s “just added a layer to this value system that stayed with me.” Byrne noted how during a dinner with Jay Penske (current chief executive officer of Penske Media Corp.), 20 years ago about his vision to create this media company, “our conversation was all about integrity and leadership,” Byrne said. “That’s why I have to give special kudos to Jay, because this company that we have now, which has about 24 different brands including Dick Clark Productions, the Golden Globes, and South by Southwest…the value system here is all about integrity and ethics. Those are unique words and assets to find in the environment that we live in.”
Byrne also acknowledged his wife Liz and actress daughter Megan, who attended Friday’s ceremony, for their support. Megan is part of the “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” production on Broadway. He also spoke of his son Gavin and daughter-in-law Chrystianne [DeAlmeida], a clinical psychologist, who are now living in Tokyo where she has helped to create a mental health infrastructure at the Yakota Air Base, that was initially prompted by the need to help family members and U.S. Air Force troops there after eight airmen died in an Osprey crash off the coast of Japan in 2023. Byrne also spoke of his “sharp-as-a-tack” 93-year-old brother, who is on 100 percent veteran’s disability at the St. Albans Naval Hospital in Queens and praised “these people, who really are dedicated to making a difference.” He also spoke of the need to support and recognize the veteran population of an estimated 18 million and the community that supports it.
Gerry Byrne and U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
George Chinsee/WWD
Byrne recalled two quotes that have stayed with him through the years. He described how a Marine Corps sergeant once said to him in Vietnam, while offering to light his Marlboro cigarette with a Zippo lighter, “Have you ever seen this before? It was inscribed with, ‘For those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.’”
Another quote that stayed with him occurred during Byrne’s years working for the renowned screenwriter and television and film producer Norman Lear. “When I was there, we did ‘Stand by Me,’ ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘Fried Green Tomatoes,” said Byrne, adding that he and Lear had a special affinity due to Lear having flown 52 combat missions as a door gunner on a B-17 in Europe. “There’s a certain energy that happens between veterans, particularly combat veterans. They don’t talk about specifics. They just recognize something exists that is unique.”
Gerry Byrne and U.S. Navy Secretary Del Toro.
George Chinsee/WWD
After asking Lear once over lunch, “’How do you do what you do?’ because he had created People for the American Way, was on the board of 30 not-for-profits and held leadership positions all over the place,” Byrne said, “He looked at me and said, ‘Gerry, life is not a rehearsal.’”
PMC’s vice chairman said he kind of lives by those words today, and suggested that others consider them. Noting that moment that was being shared with Del Toro and all the attendees at Friday’s ceremony would not happen again, Byrne said, “So just think about the opportunities that each and every one of you have to make a difference in the simplest of ways.”
