If you are not familiar with Irvine's rich military history, our City was home to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) for nearly six decades.

It was commissioned in 1943 during World War II and became the Center for Support Operations & Combat Readiness of Fleet Forces in the Pacific during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The air station was also home to thousands of military families.

MCAS was decommissioned in 1999. A few years later, the land was transferred to the City of Irvine, and is now home to our Great Park.

After more than a decade of tireless work by Mayor Larry Agran and thousands of Irvine residents, a Veterans Memorial Park & Gardens is being built at the Great Park to honor the history and legacy of the former air station.