 -Sgt. Marc Iseli- I have a sad feeling in my heart when I think about what has become of our home we called, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. Even though I know we must all move forward I can not help remmembering the many great memories that I have had at this great air base as a young Marine many moons ago now. This is my special tribute to MCAS, El To. May she rest in peace and always remain in our hearts.  MCAS, El Toro Topic Menu (Click on topic to view below, click on Top of Page after topic to return here) MCAS, El Toro / Slideshow / Farewell / MCAS, Today / Video Tour / Trivial Facts  MCAS El Toro History The first jet squadron stationed at MCAS El Toro, Marine Fighter Squadron 311, arrived in 1948 and flew the TO-1 (F-80C) Shooting Star, the military's first stock production jet fighter. An original Shooting Star is currently displayed at the Jay W. Hubbard Aviation Museum at MCAS El Toro. Two years later in March 1950, VMF-311 transitioned to the F9F Panther and later that year departed for Korea. Throughout the Korean War, El Toro continued to train and prepare Marine Corps aviation units for duty overseas. Two years after the end of combat operations in Korea in 1953, the station saw another significant population increase when the entire 3rd Marine Air Wing moved from southern Florida, where it had been stationed since 1952. In the 1960s and early '70s, El Toro played a pivotal role in Vietnam. Fighter attack squadrons such as the Death Rattlers, Black Knights and Bats swooped out of the base for combat over Southeast Asia. The 3d MAW's participation in Vietnam, Also, during Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Restore Hope, MCAS El Toro served admirably as a strategic jumping-off point for trans-Pacific flights and a VIP reception area. In August 1994, VMFA(AW)-121 and VMFA-134, a reserve squadron from Marine Aircraft Group 46, were the first F/A-18 squadrons to move to Miramar. Currently a total of seven fighter squadrons have completed the transition. Six CH-46 squadrons from MCAS Tustin relocated to MCAS El Toro. El Toro was its own city of sorts, with 50,000 service men and women and civilians alike moving through its gates annually. It boasted everything from its own church and school to a car wash, golf course and stables. But the core of the base was the air operations. 
MCAS El Toro Slideshow 50 Photographs
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 -Assistant Commandant Gen. Terrence R. Dake- Those who have defended this great nation and have been a part of Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. Not all those heroes survived. "Too many times we have been in the chapel for memorial services," Dake told the crowd, acknowledging the core reality of war. "It is in the pride of their victories that we stand here today." MCAS El Toro was like glue binding together the men and women of the Marine Air Wing--almost all of whom have passed through El Toro."It matters not when we served here," "There's a kinship among us." The kinship extends to part of the surrounding community, as well. After the speeches, three platoons of Marines passed in review before the grandstands, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing band continued a series of marches and patriotic songs. The final official moments were marked by a World War II-era F4U Corsair's symbolic touch-and-go landing, and a flyover by two F/A-18 Hornets which banked sharply, then aim for the heavens. El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was laid to rest.-Tom O'Hara-
In 1958, the Santa Ana Freeway opened along the western edge of the base, a convenient route to an attraction called Disneyland. It would be another decade before the freeway was linked to the San Diego Freeway, forming the El Toro "Y" and a road to what in 1968 was a new shopping experience: South Coast Plaza. When the country pulled out of Vietnam in 1975, America was gripped by televised images of refugees being airlifted off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. After transferring into huge transport planes in Guam, many landed at El Toro. Eventually 50,000 immigrants arrived, and another community--Little Saigon--sprang up. Six privates were forced out of the Corps in 1978 after being caught burning a cross in the picnic area after midnight, some of them clad in Ku Klux Klan-style sheets. As president, Richard M. Nixon often rode Air Force One into El Toro. Beautiful trees were planted to spruce up the base entrance for his trip to the Western White House in San Clemente. the now mature, lush topiary had been appraised at $500,000. "I hope they don't just bulldoze it."After resigning from office in August 1974, Nixon landed at El Toro to devoted fans. When he died in 1994, his flag-draped casket came home again. The base underwent a multimillion-dollar face-lift in the mid-1980s. Air show attendance also soared, in spite of several crashes that took the lives of daredevil fliers. One crashed into the base chapel in 1985, another in 1993 before 500,000 onlookers. On March 17, 1943, MCAS El Toro was commissioned. The base was christened in blood. After a round of speeches and a parade of troops, nine Marine pilots took off in formation as hundreds of spectators looked on. "Suddenly, one of the planes spluttered, For reasons never revealed, it then plummeted to Earth at the south end of the field, less than 500 yards from the first busload of civilians. The ship plowed into the ground with tremendous force, sending up a giant dust cloud." The pilot was a Guadalcanal veteran, Matthew Kennedy of Terre Haute, Ind."He had three Japanese planes to his credit, only to die at home in an aerial parade In 1990, Desert Storm hit. El Toro squadrons
were among the first to bomb Iraq.The air
show that year was the biggest ever, with
more than 1 million turning out to welcome
home victorious troops.
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