Phil Rios Photo by Aniko Kiezel
Life of Service VETERAN ENSURES SACRIFICES ARE REMEMBERED
P
hil Rios lives by four values: honor, discipline, clean teeth and an even cleaner shave. The last two may seem incongruous, but Rios knows they can be a matter of life and death. As a combat veteran of the U.S. Army Military Police, Rios was
JL By Jessica Laskey Meet Your Neighbor
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responsible for keeping his squad safe under dangerous conditions in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Korea. “When your base is hit and you put on your (gas) mask, you can get hit with some serious halitosis,” Rios says. “I always told my squad to brush your teeth and make sure you shave for a secure (mask) fit. My squad had the freshest breath ever.” Hygiene aside, Rios has spent his life taking care of people around him, whether in his 43-year career with the postal service, 26 years in the military, many years as a Sacramento County voting precinct officer or nearly 30 years with the California Mexican American Veterans Memorial Foundation, which he helped found.
“My father was instrumental in inspiring me to get involved and do the work, particularly in politics,” says Rios, who was raised with 10 siblings by his father, a U.S. Navy veteran, and mother at 14th Avenue and Stockton Boulevard. “My dad would tell me, ‘Mijo, in the Navy in World War II, my weapon was a .30 caliber. Now, our weapon is to vote. If you don’t vote, don’t complain.’” As a Sacramento City College student, Rios was drafted into Vietnam. He became an MP who escorted fellow soldiers caught absent without leave, which was a “clash of conscience” for the 19-year-old who protested the war. Back in civilian life, he realized he missed the “camaraderie, unity and
integrity” of the military and joined the Army Reserves in 1974. “I went from being a hippie to being a veteran,” Rios says. After serving in the National Guard as an MP escort and on security teams during natural disasters, he pulled three tours in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and 14 months in the Persian Gulf War, earning a Bronze Star in 1991. Rios returned to Sacramento to figure out what kind of life he wanted. The Bronze Star was “the biggest curse” when Rios wanted to return to a civilian existence “in the background.” Reliving the event that earned the medal triggered PTSD. But it led to another opportunity that changed his life for the better.
