STE. GENEVIEVE – The Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center Speaker Series will present “Chester Airfield” with Charlie Bargman, Bob Lockhart and Tammy Grah Wednesday, February 26 at 6 p.m. at the Orris Theater in Ste. Genevieve.
Information for the program has been provided by the Chester Public Library, Barbara Maxwell at Perryville Regional Airport and the Perry County Historical Society.
Those who attend the program will learn that Chester Airfield, which is now known as Perryville Regional Airport, was a primary pilot training facility for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
The airfield was located near McBride, Missouri, but was named for Chester, Illinois.
The USAAF built Chester Airfield in 1942 to train aviation cadets who came from all over the country.
The guest speakers will provide fascinating details of the challenges of building the facility and what it was like for the thousands of pilots trained there in a very short amount of time.
The presentation is sponsored by the Don Heil Oil Co. Inc. It is free of charge for museum members, otherwise museum admission will apply.