Name/Title
Foster Field “Dedication” [Postcard]Description
A “Dedication” postcard postmarked on February 22, 1942, on the renaming of Victoria Field to Foster Army Air Field. Signed by the postmaster.Context
Foster Army Air Field, an advanced single-engine flying school for fighter pilots six miles northeast of Victoria, was established in the summer of 1941. A local funding campaign led by E. J. Dysart the previous spring had raised some $17,000 to locate the base at Victoria as an economic asset. Subsequent government construction cost more than $4 million. The initial class of cadets arrived in September 1941 and served under Lt. Col. Warren R. Carter, the first commander. WACs began to arrive the following May. The base was known until January 15, 1942, as Victoria Field and then renamed in memory of Lt. Arthur L. Foster, a United States Army Air Corps instructor killed in a crash at Brooks Field in 1925. Foster's son received his training and commission at the base in the spring of 1942. Cadets used the North American AT-6 "Texas" and Curtis P-40 trainers to drill in aerial gunnery, though actual practice took place on ranges located on Matagorda Island and Matagorda Peninsula.