Before joining the Air Force, Phil Covarrubias was a farm boy who grew up in Rocky Ford, Colorado at a time when he says people were prejudice toward Mexicans.
Covarrubias, who said he is Mexican American, was used to working in the onion fields, cutting hay and feeding his family’s farm animals. But when he joined the Air Force, Covarrubias’ eyes were opened to different cultures and parts of the world he hadn’t previously seen like Sault Ste. Marine, Michigan, and Okinawa, Japan.
“(The military) makes you grow up quite rapidly, and you learn to be more responsible and learn different things. Being a farm boy, it opened up my eyes to a completely different portion of your life,” said Covarrubias. “It made a different person out of me, because you’re around government property, aircrafts, ships, traveling over seas, and seeing different people. It just gives you a wider perspective in your life.”
While in the Air Force, Covarrubias was a jet mechanic and a crew chief on a jet fighter. He was influenced to join the military by a desire to serve and had three uncles who were a paratrooper and members of the Army and Navy. That desire to serve doesn’t just run through Covarrubias and his uncles — it runs through his sister, son and grandson.
Covarrubias’ sister Delores Covarrubias spent 33 years in the Navy while his son, Phil Covarrubias Jr., was a Marine during the 1980’s. And today, his grandson Nicholas Covarrubias is currently stationed in Hawaii serving as a Marine as well.
“We all have an interest in keeping our freedom here in the United States,” said Covarrubias who turned 82 in October. “Serving your country, it’s important. A lot of people take freedom for granted.”
As we celebrate Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11, We honor Americans who have served their country in the military like the Covarrubias family.
Today, Hispanics are the fastest growing population in the military as the group makes up about 16 percent of all active-duty military, according to the Department of Defense. However, a 2019 report by the Congressional Research Service found that Latinos make up only 8 percent of the officer corps and 2 percent of general/flag officers. There are more than 314,000 Hispanics and Latinos actively serving in the military now, according to a 2020 report from Syracuse University.
This Friday, Covarrubias, Covarrubias Jr., and Covarrubias’ grandson will be honored through the American Legion veteran’s organization. “Veteran’s Day makes people aware of the soldiers that have served and that have died. We care about our freedom, and it means a lot to be proud to be a soldier,” said Covarrubias.
