Odelio Norcisa - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Korean War

Click on Veteran's photo to see their service story. These Warriors served during the Korean War

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last an hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some still photographers for in the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question. Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2024 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
US Navy BMSN Korean War Odelio Norcisa was born on April 7, 1934, and grew up in Key West, Florida. With his Parent’s permission, he left high school and enlisted in the Navy at 17, in Jacksonville, Florida, on 13 June 1951. Seaman Recruit Norcisa reported to San Diego, California, to the Recruit Training Command for boot camp. The physical training was his favorite part of training. After training, Odelio was shipped out on his first orders. He was deployed to the Navy Boathouse at Naval Station, Sasebo, Japan, to work and drive the Mobile Boat Pool craft. The base commander controls the boathouse and its small craft. A boat house is like an Army base’s motor pool but with boats used to operate in the harbor. Odelio learned to operate many craft, including the Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) and Landing Craft, Vehicle, and Personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boats, and became a coxswain. Both were barge-like boats with front ends that could drop onto a beach. They could ferry approximately 30 men and were used as liberty launches for the ships that had to anchor in the bay, being too large for the small piers at the Naval Station. BMSN Norcisa also had a short tour aboard the USS Arikara (AT-98), an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug, while it was in Sasebo, Japan. Odelio loved running the boats and taking care of the Sailors. He liked getting Sailors and Marines to the beach for liberty and back to their duty assignments. Odelio remembers sailing back to the United States in 1954 at the end of his three-year tour in Sasebo via a Liberty ship. The transit lasted four weeks, and the ship's cargo and sailors were returned to the discharge station in San Francisco. BMSN Odell Norcisa was honorably discharged on 25 August 1954 and transferred to the fleet reserve. Odelio earned the National Defense Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the China Service Medal, and the Japanese Occupation Medal. Odelio used his GI bill to finish high school at a local Los Angeles school. He then attended Truck Master's School in Los Angeles and received his Commercial Driver's License (CDL). He operated semi-trailer trucks for many years, both up and down California. He also worked for the Hughes Aircraft Company of Westchester, Los Angeles, for many years, transporting parts and supplies. Odelio was married, and he and his wife lived in Los Angeles and had three children.
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Odelio Norcisa - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
US Navy BMSN Korean War Odelio Norcisa was born on April 7, 1934, and grew up in Key West, Florida. With his Parent’s permission, he left high school and enlisted in the Navy at 17, in Jacksonville, Florida, on 13 June 1951. Seaman Recruit Norcisa reported to San Diego, California, to the Recruit Training Command for boot camp. The physical training was his favorite part of training. After training, Odelio was shipped out on his first orders. He was deployed to the Navy Boathouse at Naval Station, Sasebo, Japan, to work and drive the Mobile Boat Pool craft. The base commander controls the boathouse and its small craft. A boat house is like an Army base’s motor pool but with boats used to operate in the harbor. Odelio learned to operate many craft, including the Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) and Landing Craft, Vehicle, and Personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boats, and became a coxswain. Both were barge-like boats with front ends that could drop onto a beach. They could ferry approximately 30 men and were used as liberty launches for the ships that had to anchor in the bay, being too large for the small piers at the Naval Station. BMSN Norcisa also had a short tour aboard the USS Arikara (AT-98), an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug, while it was in Sasebo, Japan. Odelio loved running the boats and taking care of the Sailors. He liked getting Sailors and Marines to the beach for liberty and back to their duty assignments. Odelio remembers sailing back to the United States in 1954 at the end of his three-year tour in Sasebo via a Liberty ship. The transit lasted four weeks, and the ship's cargo and sailors were returned to the discharge station in San Francisco. BMSN Odell Norcisa was honorably discharged on 25 August 1954 and transferred to the fleet reserve. Odelio earned the National Defense Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the China Service Medal, and the Japanese Occupation Medal. Odelio used his GI bill to finish high school at a local Los Angeles school. He then attended Truck Master's School in Los Angeles and received his Commercial Driver's License (CDL). He operated semi-trailer trucks for many years, both up and down California. He also worked for the Hughes Aircraft Company of Westchester, Los Angeles, for many years, transporting parts and supplies. Odelio was married, and he and his wife lived in Los Angeles and had three children.