Former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro (Irvine, California)

USA / California / Lake Forest / Irvine, California
 draw only border, closed / former military, United States Marine Corps
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California at 33.67° N 117.73° W. Its ICAO airport code is KNZJ.

Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast. Designated as a Master Jet Station, its four runways (two of 8000 feet and two of 10,000 feet) could handle the largest aircraft in the U.S. military inventory. All U.S. Presidents in the post-WWII era have landed in Air Force One at this airfield.

El Toro was twice the final stop for former President Richard Nixon, first when he landed there upon resigning the White House in 1974, and again after his death in 1994 when his body was flown to California for burial.

El Toro is now the site for the Orange County Great Park being developed.

www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_OrangeCo_SE.h...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Toro_Marine_Corps_Air_Station
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   33°40'27"N   117°43'36"W

Comments

  • I remember watching air shows here when I was a kid
  • I really miss the air shows...
  • I saw the final airshow here. What fun it was. Of course, now I'm watching it at Miramar every year.
  • Old memories - flew out of El Toro for Vietnam in 1968. Saw President Johnson there earlier that year
  • I saw that final air show, too. Quite a site as we mourned the loss.
  • was stationed there 1977-1982 (VMFP-3) brings back alot of fond memories. I truly miss it
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This article was last modified 4 years ago