Phillips was born and raised in Lockport, New York. After high school, he accepted a nomination to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He graduated with the class of 1968 and was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy.
Following naval flight training, he was designated as a naval aviator. Over the next 20 years, he served in a number of aviation squadrons and commanded them both ashore and afloat. As a specialist in antisubmarine warfare, he logged over 5,000 flight hours and 500 aircraft-carrier landings.
Phillips subsequently worked in Washington, D.C. on Navy budget matters with the Office of the Navy Comptroller and the House and Senate Appropriations committees on Capitol Hill.
In 1989, Phillips commanded the amphibious ship, U.S.S. Ogden (LPD-5), homeported in Long Beach. Under his command, Ogden, with its crew of 300 and nearly 800 embarked Marines, was deployed to the Persian Gulf for 301 days in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Phillips retired with over 27 years of active-duty service in July 1995. After his retirement, he joined the City of Long Beach as a Navy reuse consultant to help coordinate the City’s planning efforts for the reuse of the closed naval station and shipyard properties. In 1997, he became a member of the City’s management staff, for which he worked for four years. In 2001, he was appointed as administration bureau chief for the Long Beach Police Department. He retired from the City at the end of December 2015.
Phillips is an immediate past board chair for the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ), a past board chair of ChildNet Youth and Family Services, an executive board member of the Greater Long Beach and Rio Hondo Chapters of the American Red Cross and a member of the boards of directors of For the Child, Community Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center. He is also a past president of the Downtown Long Beach Lions Club and a member of the CSULB Human Resources Advisory Committee.
He and his wife of 46 years, Susan, are residents of Long Beach, where she works as a personal-fitness trainer. They have an adult daughter, Blake, who lives and works in the Long Beach area.
“As we near the conclusion of a particularly contentious presidential election cycle, I am eternally grateful to all veterans, whose service helped guarantee our right to support and vote for the candidate of our choice,” Phillips said. “Military service is challenging, and we are truly blessed that young men and women continue to meet that challenge and protect our American way of life. I am especially proud to have been selected to serve as grand marshall of this year’s Veterans Day parade to represent all who have served and sacrificed to keep us free.”
Lerch said the parade committee is constantly looking for a grand marshal who has served the country and, whenever possible, also served Long Beach. “Captain Phillips has done both with honor,” Lerch said.
He added that, through the years, veterans have expressed their gratitude for the parade and the recognition it brings to those who served in the military.
“After one of our earlier parades, a Vietnam vet told me this was the very first time he was honored for his service,” said Lerch. “Vets from that era never really received a warm welcome home, and he took great pride in being able to participate in this particular parade.”
LA County 4th District Supervisor Don Knabe also praised the event.
“I love this annual parade as a way to recognize the tremendous service and sacrifices of all our veterans,” Knabe said. “It’s important we honor the individuals who gave their time to protect our country.”
The 20th Annual Long Beach Veterans Parade will take place on Nov. 5 with a 10am start time. It runs down Atlantic Avenue from Harding Avenue to 56th Street and typically takes about two hours.
To learn more about the parade route, visit lbveteransdayparade.com.
Source: LB Veterans Day Committee
