Texasdaisy
San Antonio
Showplace of the Air Force — 2 years ago
That’s what Randolph is called. It is very pretty, very well maintained. Parts of it are on the National Historic Register of Places. It is located east of San Antonio, bordering the towns of Universal City, Converse and Schertz.
The most identifiable feature, visible from miles away, is the “Taj Mahal”, so called because of a vague resemblance to the real Taj Mahal. It is the former HQ of the base, officially named “Building 100”. The tower conceals a 500,000 gallon water tank, still in use. At the rear of the base of the building is the base theatre.
Another striking feature, located directly to the west of the “Taj”, is the Missing Man Monument. It depicts 4 airplanes in flight, with a space where the 5th should be. The inscription reads “Those of us who came back must not forget those who could not”.
An unusual aspect is the layout of the base. It is essentially “in the round”, with the runways and service ramp located on three sides, and FM 78 on the 4th side. The layout is very confusing to newcomers and visitors to the base…it took us several days to figure out how to navigate the place when we moved there in 1993!
I will try to add photos when I can find some that are not copyrighted. In the meantime, you can see the pictures at the following website I located: http://www.lundy-c-art.com/Military%20Scenes%20%20AF.htm Note: I have no connection with this website. Or check out the base website: http://www.randolph.af.mil
