Chennault Aviation and Military Museum
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| Established | 2000 |
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| Location | 701 Kansas Lane Monroe, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°30′41″N 92°03′17″W / 32.5115°N 92.0548°W |
| Type | Military, aviation |
| Website | www.chennaultmuseum.org |
The Chennault Aviation and Military Museum is a museum based in Monroe, Louisiana, which highlights the career of General Claire Chennault, the impact of lesser-known regional military personnel, and the establishment of the aviation industry in the northeastern portion of the state.
The United States Army Air Force Navigation School opened in 1942 at Monroe Regional Airport, then known as Selman Field. It was the largest such training facility of its kind in the nation. Some 15,000 navigators graduated from Selman Field; more than 1,500 were killed in combat. The first Selman Field reunion was held in 1986. The veterans joined with the City of Monroe to establish a depository of memorabilia and artifacts to preserve the history of Selman Field.
The museum opened privately in 2000 at the corner of Kansas Lane and Central Avenue in one of the remaining structures of the Selman Field school. Since then, the facility expanded to include the aviation and military history of northeastern Louisiana. The structure is named for General Chennault, a native of Commerce, Texas, who was reared in Gilbert in Franklin Parish, and made Monroe his last official address prior to his death in New Orleans in 1958.
From 2005 until 2015, the museum was operated through the office of the Louisiana Secretary of State. As of July 2015, the Chennault will return to the jurisdiction of the Ouachita Parish School Board, which owns the property and the buildings. The change is required because of $3.8 million in state budget cuts. Had the state kept jurisdiction, the museum could have opened only one day per week.
Nell Martien Calloway (born July 1950), the museum director and a granddaughter of General Chennault, said that the facility must now raise its own operating funds through private donations, annual memberships, and fundraisers. "With the cuts, we don't have much of a choice. I think this is a good move and we're excited about working with the school board. We've already started reaching out to the community to let them know about this jewel that has received national and international attention," Calloway said. The museum offers community programs beyond a mere location for the storage of materials.
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