Brothers Charles Vincent “Vin” Byrne ’47, and William M. “Bill” Byrne ’49 honored with a plaque at the National Veterans Resource Center at The Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building.
The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) recently unveiled a plaque honoring two of Syracuse University’s military-connected alumni at The National Veterans Resource Center at The Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building. Brothers Charles Vincent “Vin” Byrne ’47, and William M. “Bill” Byrne ’49, who were the prominent leaders of the Central New York business Byrne Dairy, were inducted into the Capt. Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder Hall of Honor, where their legacy will live alongside more than a century of notable military-connected University alumni.
“As we honor Bill and Vin Byrne, we celebrate not only their individual accomplishments, but also the enduring legacy of a generation that changed Syracuse University, strengthened our nation and demonstrated what is possible when service, education and opportunity come together,” says retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Dwayne Murray, deputy director of the OVMA, who emceed the ceremony. “Their journey reminds us why Syracuse University’s commitment to veterans remains as important today as it was 80 years ago.”
The Byrne brothers’ Syracuse story began in the early 1940s, when boxing was one of the University’s marquee sports. In 1943, the brothers made collegiate boxing history when Vin Byrne won the Eastern Intercollegiate Flyweight Championship and Bill won the Eastern Intercollegiate Middleweight Championship, the first time brothers had claimed Eastern Intercollegiate boxing titles in the same year. Later that same year, with the country at war, both brothers left campus to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps and join the 16.1 million who served in the U.S. armed forces throughout World War II.
