Norman Ploszaj
An oral history with Norman Ploszaj, resident of Thousand Oaks, California, and former member of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). This interview was conducted as part of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Oral History Project for California State University, Fullerton and the Center for Oral and Public History. The purpose of this interview was to gather information regarding Ploszaj's experiences at and around El Toro. This interview includes discussion about growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, as the son of an uneducated Polish immigrant who was often unemployed; speaks about quitting high school in order to help support his family; talks about joining the USMC in 1952, wanting to improve his circumstances through education and training; describes attending boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina, speaking about his emotional and physical response to training; recalls his first impression of El Toro and the surrounding community, discussing daily life and living in the barracks; talks about being assigned to VMF(N)-542 [Night Fighter Squadron] as a radio technician; discusses social activities at El Toro, including the Enlisted Club, receiving visits from famous personalities, and taking trips to Long Beach and Santa Monica, California; describes the emotional atmosphere on the base during the Korean War, including changes in church attendance; recalls being deployed to Korea in 1954, speaking about dealing with locals, death, cold, and fear; discusses resisting reenlistment, marrying, and returning to California; compares El Toro in the 1970s with his experiences there in the 1950s; expresses disappointment at El Toro's closure. This interview spans 1933-2007. Bulk dates: 1950s
Manuscript, English, ©2007
©2007