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American field hockey player and aviator (1921–2022) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Nuckols as a WASP pilot | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 21, 1921 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 17, 2022 (aged 100) Manchester, Vermont, U.S. |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | Women Airforce Service Pilot |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
| Sport | |
| Country |  |
| Sport | Field Hockey |
| Team |
|
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]
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]
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]
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