From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (African American Women Veterans in and from Kentucky)
Military Branch
Women's Army Corps
Active Duty Entered
April 3, 1944
Active Duty Exit
December 17, 1945
Notes
According to an article in the Lexington Herald-Leader, Thelma Wimbley joined the U.S. Air Force on December 8, 1941. She said that she was a member of the supply personnel aboard "The Liberator" in Hawaii. No additional information has been located at this time about her service in the Air Force. Sources: Merlene Davis, "Veterans recall the comfort of mail," Lexington Herald-Leader, 11/11/1987, p. 48.
Thelma Mae Wimbley was born in Martwick, KY, the daughter of Benjamin T. and Conolia E. Taylor Wimbley. The family is enumerated in the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses. Thelma M. Wimbley was living in Terre Haute, IN when she enlisted in the Army in Indianapolis, IN, according to her record in Ancestry. She had been employed as a cook.
After her military service, she was employed as a ward clerk at the Muhlenberg Community Hospital in Greenville, KY. She had also worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Prior to her death, Thelma Mae Wimbley lived in Lexington, KY, where she died in 1994. She is buried in the West End Cemetery in Greenville.
Sources: Thelma Wimbley in Find A Grave; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index in Ancestry; Thelma Wimbley in the obituaries in the Messenger-Inquirer, 11/29/1994, p. 16; and Public Records Index in Ancestry.
* Prior to 1947, the Army Air Forces provided airborne military actions. The U.S. Air Force became a separate military service with the National Security Act of 1947. There were women who 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.
Thelma Mae Wimbley was born in Martwick, KY, the daughter of Benjamin T. and Conolia E. Taylor Wimbley. The family is enumerated in the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses. Thelma M. Wimbley was living in Terre Haute, IN when she enlisted in the Army in Indianapolis, IN, according to her record in Ancestry. She had been employed as a cook.
After her military service, she was employed as a ward clerk at the Muhlenberg Community Hospital in Greenville, KY. She had also worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Prior to her death, Thelma Mae Wimbley lived in Lexington, KY, where she died in 1994. She is buried in the West End Cemetery in Greenville.
Sources: Thelma Wimbley in Find A Grave; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index in Ancestry; Thelma Wimbley in the obituaries in the Messenger-Inquirer, 11/29/1994, p. 16; and Public Records Index in Ancestry.
* Prior to 1947, the Army Air Forces provided airborne military actions. The U.S. Air Force became a separate military service with the National Security Act of 1947. There were women who 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 Muhlenberg County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Fayette County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Kentucky Place (Town or City)
Read about Martwick, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Greenville, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Lexington, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Item Relations
Cited in this Entry
| NKAA Source: Owensboro messenger-inquirer (newspaper) |
| NKAA Source: Ancestry (online) |
| NKAA Source: Lexington herald-leader (newspaper) |
Related Entries Citing this Entry
| none |
Cite This NKAA Entry:
“Wimbley, Thelma Mae,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed July 26, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/300004404.
Last modified: 2023-05-12 16:19:27