Designing the American Fighter Aces Congressional Gold Medal

When beginning any design project for the U.S. Mint, but especially for a Congressional Gold Medal, my very first action is to read and re-read the enacted language of the law in order to fully understand the scope and sense of what Congress finds as the reasons for conferring its highest civilian honor on any group or individual. In the instance of the American Fighter Aces, the Congress makes compellingly clear why this distinction and recognition is so highly deserved.

An appreciation for these particular citations which outline the history and accomplishments of the American Fighter Aces is instrumental for me to develop a sense of the range and breadth of the recipients' contributions, which hopefully will be reflected in the artwork. Additionally, I find that my travels and experiences over the years with the U.S. Air Force Art Program have informed my designs and impart an authenticity to the artwork which pays homage to our women and men in uniform.

Although the scope and range of the Aces' service included the Spanish Civil War, Sino-Japanese War, Russian Civil War, Arab-Israeli War, and others, I focused on portraying Aces representing WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. I tried to create likenesses of Aces that were representative of these distinct eras. Besides the era-specific headgear for each Ace worn in each of these conflicts, I looked at many photos of pilots from each period to come up with composites that would be believable representatives of their time and style.

For instance, the flowing and dashing white silk scarf of the young WWI Ace, the tough and seasoned craggy look on the WWII Ace, the hint of Hispanic features for the Korean War era Ace and an attempt to give a 60's feel to the profile of the Vietnam War Ace. The military wings, which created a framework for the globe, were my attempt to symbolically say that the Fighter Aces fought for freedom and democracy around the globe in many theaters of war and truly earned their "Wings of Valor". Lastly, I felt that the ace of spades was an important element to include, as it had a long and resonant association with the ranks of Fighter Aces from WWI to the present day.

*In the category of minutia that might be interesting to collectors and scholars, an early version of the obverse had the 5 stars emblematic of the 5 air to air victories necessary to be given the elite designation of Ace. They were removed, as the selected reverse, brilliantly designed and sculpted by Don Everhart had that element already incorporated into its design. The lower obverse inscription, "ARMY-NAVY-AIR FORCE-MARINES" replaced the original inscription "DUTY-COURAGE-AGGRESSIVENESS" which was already part of Don's reverse design.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL AWARDED TO FIGHTER ACES (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n21a10.html)