DEL MAR – When World War II veterans sit around telling stories, Phil Morell has a doozy: the time tanks from the U.S. Marine Corps seized the Del Mar Racetrack.
In July 1942, Morell was a second lieutenant tank platoon leader in D Company in the 2nd Tank Battalion stationed at Jacques Farm, now known as Admiral Baker Field in Mission Valley.
A Japanese submarine had shelled an oil field off the coast of California and released balloons carrying flammable material to try to set fire to the forests in Oregon, and military leaders feared a Japanese landing.
“We were ordered to seize the Del Mar Racetrack and reconnoiter routes to the beach and to be prepared to rush to the beach and repel any invaders,” Morell said.
But getting there was half the fun, he said.
The entirety of the article by Patty McCormac can be read at the San Diego Union Tribune by
Photos courtesy of Phil Morell