The airfield chapel, completed in 1934, at Randolph Field, now Randolph Air Force Base, part of the U.S. Military's Joint Base San Antonio. Modeled after two San Antonio Spanish missions -- Concepcion and San Jose -- the Romanesque structure features original stained-glass windows donated by Air Force personnel and area citizens in 1942 and 1943. The cupola on the chapel's right tower was deliberately left unfinished in keeping with old Spanish tradition, dating to the 17th Century, when architects had to pay high taxes on finished buildings.
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.