2019-2 Remembrances Special Edition1
City of Schertz
Remembrances Special Edition Article 2019-2
Presented by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee
Randolph Field Artist Leaves Lasting Legacy
In June 1942, six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, New York’s Guggenheim Foundation
desired to make a lasting artistic contribution to the Army Air Force in the way of a grant. The
foundation approached General Henry “Hap” Arnold with the idea and Randolph Field, then known as
the “West Point of the Air,” was selected as the beneficiary. Mr. William Dean Fausett was
commissioned to create the artwork, which consisted of a series of six murals depicting a portion of
aviation cadet training as students strove to become pilots, navigators, or bombardiers.
Fausett, who went by Dean, was a renowned American artist with works displayed at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Museum of American Art, and the New York City
Museum of Fine Art. He was selected by Art News as one of the best painters in America. At the time, he
was probably most famous for murals he painted for the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant in New York
City.
Upon arrival at Randolph Field (today known as Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph) in
October 1942, Fausett set up shop in the former base weather station located at
the top of the administration building, known as the Taj Mahal. He made visits to
flying training fields in Uvalde, Hondo, and Midland to prepare sketches and take
photos of the navigation and bombing schools.
In January 1943, he began creating small studies of the proposed scenes measuring
approximately 9 inches by 41 inches, followed by the major task of producing huge
panels illustrating flight training conducted by the Army Air Forces Training
Command. The resulting murals covered an area of 1,272 square feet, divided into
six major panoramas including seven circular compositions designed around life-
sized figures. In a letter to the fund director written in October 1942, Fausett wrote
that the purpose of the Randolph murals was “to convey the idea of teamwork that
is all important in laying the ground work for knocking the Axis out”.
Dean Fausett, February 1956
Fausett completed the six murals in January 1944, after 17 months of work. They were installed in the
aviation cadet administration building’s cadet mess hall, filling both sides of the nearly 100 foot-long
sides of the mess. Upon completion of the project, the Guggenheim Foundation extended Fausett’s
fellowship so he could produce four additional 4 x 6 foot oil paintings depicting a pilot, navigator,
bombardier, and gunner. When completed around June 1944, the paintings were installed in the
rotunda of the Taj Mahal where they remain on display today.
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Fausett Murals as Displayed in the Mess Hall
The murals remained on display until 1957, when the building housing the cadet training mess was
converted into office space for the newly arrived Air Training Command Headquarters and a new home
had to be found for the artwork. In December 1957, the murals were transferred to the US Air Force
Academy in Colorado, then still under construction. The six studies were placed on display at the
Academy. Sadly, most of the original murals fell into a state of disrepair and were discarded. Luckily,
however, members of the 98th Flying Training Squadron rescued the two panels depicting “His First Solo
Flight” from a dumpster and installed them in their parachute shop.
Fausett's "First Solo Flight"' Mural
In 2009, the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Office of History arranged for the transfer of
the six studies from the Air Force Academy to Randolph. Leading the charge to recover the mural art
work was Robert "Bob" Crawford, then Archivist for the AETC Office of History (and a Schertz Historical
Preservation Committee Associate Member). In 2010, the last surviving mural was returned to Randolph
for restoration and display. That mural now hangs in a prominent place within the AETC Headquarters
building, along with the six studies.
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Fausett's "Bombs Away" Mural
Fausett's "Flight Line" Mural
Fausett's "Instruments of Navigation" Mural