From 1943 to 1946 during World War II, he served in the United States Army in the South Pacific, as an artillery lieutenant in the Thirty-second Infantry Division.

As part of his undergraduate degree, Ryan completed a senior thesis titled "New York State Labor Legislation and Alfred E.

With prominent support in the reform Democratic movement, he polled over 113,000 votes and finished third behind Abraham Beame and Paul Screvane.

While he endorsed the Democratic ticket subsequent to his primary defeat, Republican-Liberal candidate John Lindsay was elected Mayor.

Congressman Ryan championed the creation of a unit of the National Park Service from historic properties and significant natural resources in the hands of the federal government around the New York City metropolitan area, with the intention of providing millions of local residents and visitors the opportunity to visit a unit of the National Park System who might never have the opportunity otherwise.