From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (African American Women Veterans in and from Kentucky)

Kavanaugh, Minnie Armenta

(born: January 4, 1908  -  died: March 4, 1971) 

Military Branch

Women's Army Corps

Active Duty Entered

April 1, 1943

Active Duty Exit

1945

Notes

Minnie A. Kavanaugh was living in Lexington, KY when she enlisted in the Army, according to the record in Ancestry. In October 1944, she was transferred from the Basic Training Center at Fort Des Moines, IA to the Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base in North Carolina. 

Minnie was the daughter of Jerry Taylor Kavanaugh and Minnie K. Kavanaugh. In the 1910 U.S. Census, Minnie the younger was listed as Minnie Kavanaugh, Jr. The family lived in Germantown (Clark County), KY. In the 1920 Census, the family lived in Lexington. In the 1930 Census and 1939 city directory, the family was still living in Lexington, where Minnie A. Kavanaugh was a beautician in her mother's  beauty salon.

In 1943, Minnie A. Kavanaugh enlisted in the Army. In 1945 she was back in Lexington, where she managed the beauty salon for the next decade. She died in Lexington and is buried in Cove Haven Cemetery. 

Sources: "Transferred: Pvt. Minnie Armenta Kavanaugh," The Lexington Herald, 10/3/1944, p. 12; Minnie K. and Minnie Kavanaugh in Polk's Lexington City Directory, 1939, p. 335; Polk's Lexington City Directory, 1945, p. 216; and Minnie A. Kavanaugh in Find A Grave.

* Prior to 1947, Prior to 1947, the Army Air Forces was the designation for airborne aspects of the military. The U.S. Air Force became a separate military service with the National Security Act of 1947. Some women continued in the Army while performing Air Force duties. In 1948 women in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) were able to transfer to Women in the Air Force (WAF). See Women in the Air Force, an Air University research guide.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Fayette County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Clark County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Lexington, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Germantown, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Item Relations

Cited in this Entry

NKAA Source: Ancestry (online)
NKAA Source: The Lexington herald (newspaper)
NKAA Source: Polk's Lexington city directory (serial)

Related Entries Citing this Entry

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Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Kavanaugh, Minnie Armenta,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed July 26, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/index.php/items/show/300004433.

Last modified: 2023-05-10 16:51:38