: ''For the World War II use of the airport, see

Dyersburg Army Air Base Dyersburg Army Air Base is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 2 miles north of Halls, Tennessee. It was active during World War II as a training airfield. It was closed on 30 November 1945 Dyersburg AAB was the largest c ...

'' Arnold Field is a

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located two miles (3 km) northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Halls, a town in Lauderdale County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The airport is named for a former Mayor, Sammie Arnold The airport is operated on the grounds of the former Dyersburg Army Air Base. In the 1940s the

Dyersburg Dyersburg is a city and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 census ...

Army Air Base was a training facility for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bomber pilots and crews. In 2007, Arnold Field is home to 15 general purpose

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

and the Veterans' Museum.

Facilities and aircraft

Arnold Field covers an area of which contains one

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

paved

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

(18/36) measuring 4,700 x 75 ft (1,433 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending December 3, 1996, the airport had 7,290 aircraft operations, an average of 19 per day: 99%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and 1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Veterans' Museum

Foundation and purpose

The Veterans' Museum, located on the site of the former air base, was built in 1997. It is owned and operated by the Dyersburg Army Air Base Memorial Association, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. The purpose of the museum is the preservation and documentation of materials related to

activities from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, as well as documenting the history of the air base itself. RV parking is available at no charge, and admittance to the museum is free. Electrical hookup is $10 per day.

Exhibits

The

exhibits An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

of the Veterans' Museum stem from donations by organizations and individuals. Outside exhibits of the museum are an

A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

, a USMC CH-46E helicopter, and military

vehicles A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wate ...

. The 8,900 ft² (827 m²) indoor exhibition displays items ranging from military vehicle displays and

uniforms A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

to photographs, personal and official letters, diaries, technical publications, divisional histories, videos and other military memorabilia. Murals painted by Ernie Berke and photographs of 72 crews are also displayed. Special exhibits: corsair dyaab halls tn

*World War I – A complete uniform and field gear of local resident C.C Sumrow is from the collection of Tommy Simmons. *Memphis Belle Exhibit – The exhibit tells the story of the Memphis Belle, its crew, postwar history of the Belle, and a look at the Altus Crew who flew it to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

in 1946. *Home Front Exhibit – Pictures and uniforms of area

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

who served are on display. Also included in this exhibit are pictures of weddings where local ladies married soldiers in training at the Base. *At Home Exhibit – A living room looking like "at home" during the 1940s is shown. From the radio and the coal stove, to the buffet and other items, it provides a real look at rural homes.

Air shows

At irregular intervals, the museum organizes and houses

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

s on Arnold Field.

Other facilities

The museum houses conference facilities for up to 50 people and the Sammie Arnold Lending Library, with books covering the topics documented in the museum.

References

External links

Airport page at Town of Halls websiteVeterans' Museum site
*{{US-airport-minor, M31 1942 establishments in Tennessee Airports in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Lauderdale County, Tennessee Transportation in Lauderdale County, Tennessee