Life of PC Alumna Captured in New Book

The astounding life and tragic death of one of Presbyterian College’s most beloved alumna has been captured in a new book co-written by her mother.

Kimberly’s Flight is the story of Capt. Kimberly Hampton ’98, a troop leader of the 17th Cavalry of the U.S. Army, who became America’s first female pilot killed in combat. She was killed in 2004 when the Kiowa Warrior helicopter she was flying over Fallujah, Iraq, was destroyed by missile fire.

But the book, co-authored by Kimberly’s mother, Ann Hampton of Seneca, S.C., and award-winning journalist Anna Simon of Anderson, S.C., describes not only her wartime death but also a life of dedicated service.

In addition to serving her country, Kimberly Hampton is remembered as an outstanding member of the PC family. An honors graduate, she led the Blue Hose women’s tennis team to three consecutive South Atlantic Conference titles and was undefeated in three years of conference singles play. She earned conference awards for Women’s Tennis Player of the Year in 1997 and 1998 and was named Female Athlete of the Year in 1998.

As a senior, she became only the second woman to serve as cadet commander for the Highlander Battalion. After graduating, she completed flight training and Aviation Officer Basic Course with honors at Fort Rucker, Ala. She served two years in South Korea and also in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Kimberly Hampton was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., before becoming the commander of Delta Troop, 1st Squadron,17th Cavalry Regiment prior to the unit’s deployment to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in September 2003. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Air Medal, and Purple Heart. On June 10, 2004, she was inducted into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2005, the Pickens County Public Library and the section of South Carolina Highway 88 that passes through Easley, S.C. were also named in her honor.

Kimberly’s Flight is also the story of a mother’s attempt to reconcile the loss of her child to war. Ann Hampton is a member and former officer of the South Carolina Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers – mothers who have lost children in military service. She has traveled twice to Iraq with other grieving mothers on humanitarian missions. This spring, Presbyterian College presented her and husband, Dale, with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Anna Simon is a former reporter and former head of the Clemson bureau for The Greenville News.

University Press Release here,