Building 661 at Randolph Field, now Randolph Air Force Base, part of the U.S. Military's Joint Base San Antonio. Originally housing a medical research facility that trained flight surgeons and psychologists, the 1942 building is now the nation's Ninteenth Air Force Command headquarters.

Randolph Field, Texas, played a pivotal role in the development of the air arm of the U.S. Army, which eventually achieved its independence as the U.S. Air Force in September 1947. It was conceived and designed as a model airfield for flight training in the mid-1920s for the fledgling Army Air Corps. The completed "Air City" became the site of unique Air Corps schools for flying training and aviation medicine, as well as a landmark in airfield planning and design. In addition, administrative headquarters at Randolph Field, including the Air Corps Training Center, the Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center and the Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command, were keystones in the organizational structure of the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Forces. Their roles were central to the Army air arm's 40-year campaign to become an independent branch of the U.S. armed forces. Photo by Carol Highsmith.