Letter
Dear Mr. Moy:
In its meeting of 15 October, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the proposed design for the Congressional Gold Medal honoring Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) from the World War II era, with the following recommendations.
For the obverse, the Commission members recommended the composite image featured in alternative #2, which they described as superior in composition and appropriately reminiscent of the 1940s. The Commission requested that the clouds be shifted or removed to avoid confusion with the main figure's head.
For the reverse, the Commission recommended alternative #1 while requesting several revisions to the design. The Commission members appreciated the intention in this alternative to depict airplanes extending across the medal's border—symbolically expressing the barrier-breaking achievements of the women being honored—and requested that this intention be expressed more consistently through the adjustment of the lower airplane's position to be clearly crossing the lower-left border, or fully within the field. They recommended that the circular form of the border be continued along the bottom of the reverse, eliminating the horizontal base in the proposal; this modification could incorporate the wings insignia within the extended field of sky, possibly overlapping the adjusted border, and would not cut off the lower airplane's wing.
As always, the staff is available to assist you with future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, AIA
Secretary
Edmund C. Moy, Director
United States Mint
801 9th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20220
cc: Kaarina Budow, U.S. Mint