Military Wiki
in: Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Articles using infobox military person, Pages using infobox Christian leader with unknown parameters,
and 12 more

Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols

Sign in to edit
Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols
US WASP Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols
Nuckols as a WASP pilot
Personal details
Born (1921-06-21)June 21, 1921
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died January 17, 2022(2022-01-17) (aged 100)
Manchester, Vermont, U.S.
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch Women Airforce Service Pilot
Battles/wars World War II
Awards
  • USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame
  • Congressional Gold Medal

Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols (June 21, 1921 – January 17, 2022) was an American field hockey player and a pilot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II.[1] Prior to her marriage in 1948, she was known by her maiden name, Patricia Kenworthy.

WASP service[]

Kenworthy enlisted in the WASP program during World War II despite falling short of the requirement that pilots have a height of five feet two inches (1.57 m).[2] She managed to pass muster by "standing up exceedingly straight and generally brazening it out."[2] She claimed to be five feet two-and-a-half inches and, training in the back seat of a Steerman, she used three pillows to see over the training pilot in the front seat.[2] She was one of 1,800 women who were accepted into the WASP program.[2] She was assigned to the Blytheville Army Air Field.[3]

The WASP pilots were not recognized as military pilots until the 1970s.[2] In 2010, Nuckols and approximately 200 other WASP pilots received the Congressional Gold Medal for their wartime service.[4] The Vermont Legislature also passed a resolution honoring Nuckols for "her extraordinary military service as a World War II flying WASP."[5]

Field hockey player[]

Kenworthy was also a star field hockey player. In November 1940, she was selected as a first-team left back on the All-America women's field hockey team.[6] She was also selected as a reserve player on the 1939 All-America team and as a first-team All-American in 1941.[7][8]

She resumed playing field hockey as a center halfback after the war and traveled to Europe in 1948 as part of the U.S. national team.[9][10] In 1988, she became one of the charter inductees into the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame.[11]

Personal life[]

Kenworthy Nuckols was born on June 21, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][12] She was married in 1948 to E. Marshall Nuckols,[13] who became a senior executive at Campbell Soup Company.[14] She died in Manchester, Vermont, on January 17, 2022, at the age of 100.[12]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Burial Locations". Texas Women's University. http://www.interment.net/data/us/nat/wasp/wasp-burial-locations.pdf. Retrieved January 25, 2021. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "She Also Served". Stratton Magazine. September 9, 2014. https://strattonmagazine.com/history/served/. 
  3. ↑ "AT-10 Wichita". Aircorps Aviation. https://www.aircorpsaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/AT-10-PROJECT-FINAL.pdf. Retrieved January 11, 2021. 
  4. ↑ "Vermonter, WWII pilot, honored". March 11, 2010. pp. A1, A2. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456143/vermonter-wwii-pilot-honored/. 
  5. ↑ "No. R-423, Senate concurrent resolution honoring Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols". Vermont Legislature. https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2010/Docs/ACTS/ACTR423/ACTR423%20As%20Adopted.pdf. Retrieved January 12, 2021. 
  6. ↑ "All-America Field Hockey Team Picked". November 24, 1940. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456607/all-america-field-hockey-team-picked/. 
  7. ↑ "Madison Girl Honored by Hockey Body". November 26, 1939. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456812/madison-girl-honored/. 
  8. ↑ "All-American Team Blanks Reserves, 5–0". November 25, 1941. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456763/all-american-team-blanks-reserves/. 
  9. ↑ "Name Six Teams For Hockey Test". November 17, 1947. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456663/name-six-teams-for-hockey-test/. 
  10. ↑ "Women Field Hockey Experts Will Play Matches in Europe". April 16, 1948. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456708/women-field-hockey-experts-will-play/. 
  11. ↑ Don Bostrom (January 17, 1988). "23 women become first to enter U.S. 'Hall'". Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. C8. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67804810/field-hockey-hof/. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Patricia (Pat) Kenworthy Nuckols". https://www.sheafuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Patricia-Pat--Kenworthy--Nuckols-?obId=23780668#/obituaryInfo. 
  13. ↑ "Nuckols-Kenworth". July 9, 1948. p. 20. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456267/nuckols-kenworthy/. 
  14. ↑ "Obituary". March 12, 1994. p. 52. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67456221/e-marshall-nuckols/. 
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Patricia Kenworthy Nuckols and the edit history here.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.