The Chennault Aviation & Military Museum of Louisiana is a treasure trove of history related to aviation. The museum is located in the only surviving building from when Selman Field was a military base during World War II, where U.S. Army Air Corps navigators were trained.
The museum houses artifacts from World War I all the way up to astronaut paraphernalia that has been donated by local astronaut Jim Halsell. The museum also chronicles the rise of Delta Airlines, who began in Monroe as a crop dusting service. There are many pictures of Delta's beginnings that I think everyone should see, especially their first headquarters. Delta has donated many artifacts to the museum.
One of my favorite places in the museum is the room dedicated to former local resident Major General Claire L.Chennault, leader of the famous "Flying Tigers". There are many artifacts here donated by his family. General Chennault's daughter, Rosemary, is the president of this great museum.
The museum is currently expanding in order to house their growing collection. They are planning to build a hangar to display vintage aircraft of which there are a few currently on display outside the museum. As of now, the museum is open Monday-Saturday 9-5 and closed Sundays. Group tours can be arranged on other dates with advance notice by calling (318) 361-9020.
The cache is a micro bison tube (replaced with 35mm canister) engraved "geocaching.com" with only a log sheet inside. Please bring your own pen or pencil to sign the log. I intentionally made the coordinates a little off to make the hunt more challenging. The cache was hidden with permission from the great folks at the museum. If you see some of these people, make sure to tell them that you're geocaching. It is outside so you can find it even when the museum is closed.
If at all possible, I recommend planning a cache hunt when the museum is open so you can go inside. It is worth the time, especially just talking to the museum volunteers who staff it. You can learn a lot from their knowledge and experience.
