44th Air Refueling Squadron (SAC)

The squadron's story starts with a war. Lake Charles Air Force Base reopened in July 1951, during Korea, and the 44th Bombardment Wing trained B-29 crews here before becoming a first-line strategic wing in 1952. In April 1953 KC-97 tankers joined it as the 44th Air Refueling Squadron, and the wing converted to B-47E Stratojets that deployed to French Morocco on Operation Reflex. The base took Claire Chennault's name on November 14, 1958, and was inactivated on June 30, 1963. Chennault International Airport now occupies the field.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu — 1.1 mi
  A 6,000-square-foot museum of southwest Louisiana Carnival with about 275 costume mannequins and 14 animated figures, opened in April 2026.
• Imperial Calcasieu Museum — 1.4 mi
  Lake Charles's history museum, founded by the Junior League in 1963, with parish artifacts, Claire Chennault's uniform and the Sallier Oak.
• Sam Houston Jones State Park — 5.0 mi
  A 1,087-acre park on the West Fork of the Calcasieu with longleaf pine, cypress-tupelo swamp, five trails, cabins and kayak rentals.
• Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point — 9.4 mi
  A free visitor center at the western gateway of Louisiana's only All-American Road, with exhibits on alligators, migrating songbirds and the estuary.

More markers nearby

• Adolphus W. Greely — steps away
• Raymond M. Clausen — steps away
• Thomas J. Ryan — steps away
• Theodore S. Wilkinson Jr. — steps away