Helicopters, Hot Rods and USO Turn Out for Marines

As a country-western singer belted out a chorus of “My Baby Is American Made,” the Goodyear blimp pointed seaward Sunday afternoon and took off from the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

It was the annual Armed Forces Day celebration at the base, where an estimated 18,000 people turned out for an open house under gray skies that buzzed with real and model airplanes.

Rides on the blimp--the “aerial ambassador”--were awarded by raffle and were one of the major attractions at the open house, which also featured displays of tanks, weapons and a gamut of military hardware.

Camouflage Colors

But there was something for everyone at the all-day show, whether your fancy was helicopters or hot rods or . . . makeup. You could get your face painted in camouflage colors.

The gates opened at 7 a.m. and 5- and 10-kilometer runs were held an hour later. A pancake breakfast followed, then a bicycle show, marching bands and a pre-lunch performance staged by the USO.

A 30-minute demonstration by paratroopers “leap-frogging” from helicopters drew a robust audience.

Throughout the day parents and children strolled through a cavernous hangar, its wood-webbed interior filled with flags of the 50 states and dozens of roadsters and antique cars.

It was a patriotic show of nostalgia on display: A pale yellow 1939 Ford coupe with an orange 76 Union ball on the antenna, bongo drums in the back and whitewall tires; a caramel-colored 1957 Chevy Handyman with matching upholstery and white crocheted dice hanging from the rear-view mirror; a 1983 Zimmer Roadster, vanilla-colored with matching seats, a 24-karat gold steering wheel and eagle hood ornament, worth about $65,000.

Rolls for Sale

A few cars away, Brian Geary Jr., 8, amused himself around a 1923 Rolls-Royce that his father and uncle were trying to sell Sunday for $18,000. A sign on the door said the tan-colored car, with wood window frames and red-spoked wheels, was a rare model formerly owned by John Wayne.

Brian, a second-grader from Big Bear City, slurped a diet soda and played with the pedals on the antique car while his look-alike towhead cousin, Jason Geary, 11, bragged about his ride on the Goodyear blimp.

A $20 bill got you 10 raffle tickets that were drawn for limited rides on the big gray blimp. The tickets benefited the Navy Relief Fund.

“It was the first time I ever flew on anything,” Jason told his cousin. “It was fun. I saw two lakes, they looked exactly alike. Then there was this bridge that went to an island. It was really loud. I rode by the pilot. It was so slow.”

Out near the air field, a USO show of torch singers and go-go dancers captured a good-sized crowd. Couples did the Balboa near the stage as a few hundred people in the bleachers looked on.

A booth covered in camouflage netting housed a softball throw where Marine Marty Cantu, 23, passed out three balls for a buck.

“It could be worse,” Cantu, a clerk in the family services center at the Tustin base, said cheerily. “I could be selling hot dogs.”

From his station Sunday, Cantu, originally from Washington, had observed throngs of children crawling over tanks and helicopters for hours.

“Right when these kids got here they went right for the guns,” Cantu said. “There’s always at least one kid hanging off the 50-pound machine gun.”