Reminder: Great Park to Honor Its Heritage at 2009 El Toro Homecoming

Voices of El Toro's Historic Past to be Honored in Tribute

WHAT: An early Veterans Day celebration will take place when nearly 100
men and women who once served or worked at the historic Marine
Corps Air Station, El Toro will return to the site of the former
base to be honored by the Orange County Great Park Board
Corporation. The 2009 El Toro Homecoming event will honor El Toro
military personnel, who will return to the former base with their
families from throughout southern California and others from out of
state for this special day.

The El Toro Homecoming will pay tribute to those who shared and
documented their lives and memories through the Great Park Oral
History Program, a collaboration between the Orange County Great
Park Corporation and California State University Fullerton's Center
for Oral and Public History.

Nearly 250 interviews with men and women, who were stationed at,
Worked on or lived near the El Toro Marino Corps Air Station
between World War II and the Korean Wars have been conducted to
date.

WHO: Larry Agran, Chair, Orange County Great Park Corporation

Sukhee Kang, Mayor, City of Irvine

Dr. William Haddad, California State University, Fullerton, Chair,
Department of History

Pete Jacobs and His Wartime Radio Review

Pre-event interviews available by request with:

-- Ernest Buford, retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant
Colonel. Mr. Buford was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station
(MCAS) El Toro from 1949-50, 1951-2, and 1957-60. Mr. Buford
served in both World War II and Korean War as a pilot, taking
part in combat missions. He currently resides in Laguna Woods,
California.

-- Corporal Pauline Buzan arrived at MCAS El Toro in 1943 and was
one of the first women Marines to arrive at the air base. She
worked in the officer's mess hall. At the age of 79 Mrs. Buzan
joined the Peace Corps and currently lives in Laguna Woods,
California.

-- Sergeant James Ley was drafted in 1951 and was assigned to MCAS
El Toro where he spent the next year working as an airplane
mechanic for the F4U Corsair. Following his discharge in 1953,
Mr. Ley returned home to Lancaster, Wisconsin where he still
resides.

WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2008
11:00 a.m. to Noon - Interview opportunities

WHERE: Orange County Great Park
Hangar 244
Off 5 Freeway and Sand Canyon
(949) 724-6574

WHY: Preserve Orange County's rich military heritage through an Oral
History Program. Through their voices the Great Park Oral History
Project examines Orange County's extraordinary transition from war
to peace, from agriculture to industry, and from small towns to
bedroom communities.

El Toro was established in 1943 because the military needed a new
Base to train young men going off to war. While many of the
stories documented as part of the Oral History Project are
positive, there are many more that address the real the cost and
sacrifice of war. Many Marines trained at Marine Corps Air Station
El Toro and served their country in the Pacific Theater. Most came
home, but many saw their comrades make the ultimate sacrifice.

The Marine Base was closed in 1999 as part of the federal
government's Base Realignment and Closure program.

CONTACT: JENN STARNES
949-724-6574

/PRNewswire -- Nov. 6/

SOURCE Orange County Great Park Corporation