By Jason Evans

Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — A project several years in the works came to fruition Thursday with the installation of an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter on the grounds of the Capt. Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library in Easley.

The decommissioned helicopter will be the centerpiece of a park honoring Hampton, an Easley native who was the first female pilot in United States military history to be shot down and killed as a result of hostile action.

Hampton was killed when the helicopter she was flying was shot down near Fallujah, Iraq, on Jan. 2, 2004.

The helicopter and memorial park project has been known as Operation

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