Hundreds of Veterans Give a Final Salute to El Toro Marine Corps Air Station

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MAY 20, 2006 – IRVINE, California – Hundreds of Navy and Marine veterans returned to the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) today for a final salute before it is transformed into the Orange County Great Park. More than 750,000 veterans were stationed at El Toro MCAS since it was commissioned on March 17, 1943. Baseball legend and Marine fighter pilot Ted Williams flew out of El Toro during World War II, movie great Tyrone Power earned his wings at El Toro, and Lieutenant Colonel “Indian Joe” Bauer received the
Medal of Honor posthumously on June 19, 1943 after being shot down during a mission over Guadalcanal.

In early 1942, the Marines paid James Irvine $100,000 for 4,000 acres of bean fields to construct a wartime air station for the purpose of squadron formation and unit training prior to overseas combat. It was commissioned on March 17, 1943. In 1950, MCAS El Toro was selected as a permanent Master Jet Station and center of support for the operation and combat readiness of Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific. The first marine jet squadron to fly in combat in Korea departed from MCAS El Toro in November 1950. Throughout its history, MCAS El Toro has served the country as a training facility in peacetime and a staging area for support of overseas military missions in times of conflict. More than two million visitors attended the last air show in 1997. The base formally closed on July 2, 1999.

“Marine Corps Air Station El Toro changed my life as a First Lieutenant, fighter pilot, flying the F-4 Phantom Aircraft,” said Buzz Elliott, 69. who was stationed at El Toro from 1974 to 1976. “It introduced me to Marine Corps aviation and was a dream come true of becoming a Marine fighter pilot.” Greg Lenoue, 34, lived on El Toro Marine Corps Air Station from 1980 to 1991. He said, “Families living at El Toro shared a sense of community that can never be duplicated again.” Another El Toro veteran, Helen Hannah , 91, came to El Toro in 1944 where she distributed Marine Corps clothing. “El Toro was brand new then,” said Corporal Hannah. “The Marine Corps Air Station was the last to recruit women in service. At that time, women could not be married or have children. The Marines are now liberated. I’m glad to see that there are now more then 500 choices for women to serve in the Corps. I’m glad to be here at today’s final salute activities.”

A formal program included introductory comments from Colonel Elizabeth Bergman. Colonel Bergman served as an assistant aircraft maintenance officer at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, and was one of the first female officers assigned to this specialty. Major General Richard M. Cooke, former commander of El Toro and Marine Corps Air Bases West, and the Second Marine Aircraft Wing, who served at El Toro from 1980 to 1984 served as keynote speaker. “It was a special time to serve at El Toro because we were able to correct so many deficiencies in the physical plant, particularly badly needed barracks and housing upgrades which received the majority of funding,” said Major General Richard M. Cooke. “Many new facilities at El Toro, Tustin, Camp Pendleton, and Yuma were also constructed with funds which came from the Reagan administration. We had special relationships with the surrounding communities that made serving in Orange County one of the highlights of my career, and which should have assured permanency of the air station. Sadly, it didn’t.”

Guided tours took Final Salute attendees down former runways and past the control tower, maintenance hangers and schools. Kiosks at each location featured photographs and information about the history of the site and provided snapshots of the site as a future Great Park. The area on and around Mag 46, the maintenance hanger, will soon make way for an amphitheatre. The area surrounding the control tower will be a botanical garden and conservatory.

Photographs showing El Toro’s past and future were showcased in a runway exhibit curated by the Legacy Project. El Toro MCAS veterans donated items for a time capsule to be placed beneath the Veteran’s Memorial in The Great Park. A “Friends and Memories” board gave attendees a way to connect with old friends and fellow veterans. Great Park Board Director Lieutenant Colonel Kogerman – a decorated combat aviator who flew missions from the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Base – introduced veterans in audience.

Orange County Great Park Board Chair Larry Agran stated, “All Great Park Board members have the greatest regard for the contributions of both the base and the people who served their country while at El Toro. We wanted to honor them with a final salute.”

El Toro MCAS formally closed on July 2, 1999. The property was sold at public auction to Miami-based Lennar Communities, one of the nation’s leading residential and commercial developers.

Now the development of the Great Park can begin in earnest, and Orange County residents can look forward to the development of the first great metropolitan park of the 21st Century, right in the heart of Orange County.
For more information about Orange County Great Park, please go to www.ocgp.org.

Press Contacts:
Maryann Maloney
(949) 375-0856