The waymark coordinates are located at the historic main gates to the Air Activities of Texas Corsicana Army Airfield in Corsicana, Texas.
The public is welcome to visit the airport building and the associated WWII Flight Training School memorials, but must stay off the flight line, away from parked airplanes, and out of private hangars.
For purposes of this category, we are going to treat these three separate memorials as one waymark because they share some stylistic similarities, and we believe they were all erected by the City of Corsicana around 1991-1995, the 50th anniversary of WWII.
The first part of this very long WWII Memorial is Sandra Van Zandt's "To the Flight Line" statue, which is dedicated to the flight school cadets who trained here.
The second part is a plaque-and benches memorial 50 yards to the west, dedicated to the flight instructors and command personnel of the Air Activities of Texas Corsicana Army Airfield.
50 more yards to the west of the second memorial, the third part honors (1) the over 90,000 US Army Air Force pilots and flight instructors who died in World War II, (2) all United States Army Air Forces Medal of Honor recipients of World War II (including one awarded to a graduate of the Corsicana Army airfield flight school) and (3) the USAAF aviation cadets and civilian flight instructors who died in training accidents at the Corsicana Army airfield 1941-1944.
The Van Zandt sculpture is of a young U.S. Army World War II era flight school cadets, who shouldered his pack is heading to the flight line for training. The statue is affixed to a polished black granite base on a concrete plinth, surrounded by a circle of concrete lined with bollards and chains.
This sculpture is placed in the middle of the sidewalk leading from the main gate to the flight line. Four short replicas of the main gates to the Army Airfield stand in pairs at the east and west sidewalk, so that a visitor can walk straight down the sidewalk through the re-created gates, go around the sculpture, and then continue on towards the flight line -- just as the young flight school cadets did during World War II.
The sculpture's plaque reads as follows:
"TO THE FLIGHT LINE"
A WWII Army Air Force Cadet
Corsicana Field"
sculpted by
Sandra Van Zandt"
50 yards to the west, the second memorial honors the civilian founders, administrators, flight instructors, and military commanding officers who were all part of running the flight school here at Air Activities of Texas Corsicana Army airfield.
It is similarly placed in the middle of the sidewalk on a round concrete pad with a tall flag pole flying an American flag in the center. On each side of the flagpole, two concrete bases with polished black granite plaques affixed honor the Flight Instructors, civilian Directors, and U.S. Army Commanding Officers for the Air Activities of Texas Corsicana Army Airfield Flight School.
Within the concrete circle, to the north and south of these plaques, two concrete benches allow visitors to sit a while with these plaques and think about the men whose work here contributed to the victory of the United States and the Allies over the Axis powers in World War II.
Continuing on another 50 yards west, a three sided triangular concrete memorial three large polished black granite panels honor more generally the (a) over 90,000 US Army Air Force pilots and flight instructors who died in World War II (b) United States Army Air Force medal of honor recipients of World War II and (c) aviation cadets and civilian flight instructors who died in training accidents at the Corsicana Army airfield 1941-1944.
These three polished granite plaques read as follows:
Plaque (a):
"This monument is dedicated to the more than 90,000 airmen and women who lost their lives in service with the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and to the civilian Flight Instructors who lost their lives while training Army Air Force pilots.
'Our debt to these men and women can never be repaid.'
President Harry S Truman
Plaque (b):
'for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity . . . And unselfish concern for the safety of others and heroic determination to destroy the enemy at all costs . . . In keeping with the highest tradition of the military service.'
United States Army Air Force Medal of Honor Recipients
World War II
[list of names]
[Inset: photograph]
"THOMAS B. McGUIRE, Jr., Major
1 August 1920 - 7 January 1945
C.O., 431st FS, 475th FG
5th AF - PTC
38 Aerial Combat Victories
Killed in Action
MOH
DSC
SS (2 OLC's)
DFC (4 OLC's)
PHM (1 OLC's)
AM (14 OLC's)
AAF Primary Flight Training
Corsicana Army Air Field"
Plaque (c):
"This memorial tablet is dedicated to the memory of the Aviation Cadets and Instructor Pilots who died in training accidents at Corsicana Army Air Field during World War Two. Men of three nations, here represented, made the supreme sacrifice while preparing to fight tyranny abroad.
[list of names]
'Forget not the price they have paid'"
For more on Maj. Thomas McGuire, see here: (
visit link)