Clinton in Laurens County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
American Flag Pole
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008
1. American Flag Pole Marker
Captain Kimberly Nicole Hampton, PC '98
United States Army
First female combat pilot shot down and killed in United Stated military aviation history
Fallujah, Iraq, January 2, 2004
Erected by Dale and Ann Hampton, Easley, SC.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: War, 2nd Iraq • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1996.
Location. 34° 27.933′ N, 81° 52.6′ W. Marker is in Clinton, South Carolina, in Laurens County. Memorial is on South Broad Street. Marker is located on the campus of Presbyterian College in the Presbyterian College Armed Forces Memorial. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Clinton SC 29325, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Presbyterian College Armed Forces Memorial (here, next to this marker); Mrs. Lillian G. Brown (here, next to this marker); Jacobs Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Davison McDowell Douglas (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Reverend William Plumer Jacobs (about 800 feet away); Malcolm A. MacDonald (approx. 0.3 miles away); William Plumer Jacobs, D.D., LL.D. (approx. 0.3
this page online
Also see . . .
1. Kimberly Hampton. Wikipedia entry:
Captain Kimberly Nicole Hampton (August 18, 1976 in Greenville, South Carolina – January 2, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq) was the first female military pilot to be shot down and killed in United States history. (Submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
2. Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom: Army Capt. Kimberly N. Hampton. Website entry:
Hampton was the pilot on a OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, Armed Reconniasiance Helicopter when it was shot down by enemy ground fire. (Submitted on December 12, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
3. Bell OH-58 Kiowa. Wikipedia entry:
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. (Submitted on December 12, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
Additional commentary.
via Wikipedia, 2001
2. Captain Kimberly Nicole Hampton
EASLEY, S.C. (AP) — Army Capt. Kimberly Hampton accomplished a lot in her 27 years.
She was an honors graduate from Presbyterian College who never lost a tennis match. She became the battalion commander of the ROTC unit there, a job that prepared her to command the Delta Troop in the 1st Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment in Iraq.
She was in her second term of military service when the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter she was piloting was shot down Jan. 2.
On Saturday, about 1,200 people recalled Hampton’s life as she was laid to rest near her parents’ home with full military honors.
Hampton, who was based at Fort Bragg, N.C., was the first female pilot killed in Iraq. She was also the first woman from South Carolina to die there.
To her parents, Hampton, an only child, was “baby girl.” To Army Capt. Will Braman, she was his fianc�e, who he planned to marry when both returned from Baghdad. To her tennis teammates, she was “Kimbo.” To those serving with her in Iraq, her voice was “Dark Horse Six.”
Not everyone at the funeral knew Hampton. There were hundreds of veterans and members of Rock Springs Baptist Church, where the ceremony was held.
Some mourners worked with her father, Dale,
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008
3. American Flag Pole Marker
Marker is to the right of center.
Everyone who knew her seemed to have a story about Hampton. She was president of the student body and captain of the tennis team at Easley High School. Robin Smith taught Hampton how to play shortstop on the softball team their senior year. She said she will always remember Hampton’s heart. “She was a friend to everyone,” Smith said.
Presbyterian College President John Griffith remembered Hampton as motivated and generous. “She was always striving for more,” he said.
“Our world is so much in need of heroes. I’m here to tell you today that at Presbyterian College, she is a hero,” Griffith told the those at the church. Dozens more watched the funeral on a television in the church’s overflow room.
Her Fort Bragg commander, Lt. Col. Terry Morgan, said she could be tough on her troops but was an inspiring leader who rewarded a job well done with “her warm smile and trademark wink.”
Hampton was stationed in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. She lived in Fayetteville, N.C., before she left for Iraq on Aug.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008
4. American Flag Pole
She had also served in Korea and Afghanistan.
“She was doing what she enjoyed doing. She was trained well, and she felt it an honor to serve her country,” said Hampton’s mom, Ann.
The Kiowa helicopter, which must be operated by two people, is designed for reconnaissance and observation missions and is often used to spot targets for Apache attack helicopters. The second pilot was injured in the crash near Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim town west of Baghdad under the charge of the 82nd.
Hampton wanted to be a pilot since she was young, her parents said. She grew up in Easley and wrote a paper for her third grade class that described how she had always wanted to fly, they said.
“We gave that to her as part of her graduation gift from Army flight school, and I think it pretty much blew her away that she had written such things as that as far back as the third grade,” Dale Hampton said.
Friends of Hampton’s parents said the Easley City Council is planning a memorial in her name.
Hampton’s parents were given Hampton’s Bronze medal, an Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
“The greatest accolade Kimberly Hampton will be given will not be here but in Heaven,” said the Rev. David Gallamore, pastor of the church. “Thank God for the life of Kimberly Hampton.”
Photographed By Wikipedia
5. Captain Kimberly Nicole Hampton
(1976–2004)
(1976–2004)
Photographed By Brian Scott, January 9, 2009
6. Capt. Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library
Pickens County Library System
304 Biltmore St Easley
Pickens County Library System
304 Biltmore St Easley
Photographed By Brian Scott, January 9, 2009
7. Kimberly Hampton Library Portico
Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 4,266 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 2. submitted on April 17, 2023, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3, 4. submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 5. submitted on October 12, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 6, 7. submitted on January 11, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
