Avenue of Heroes: Steven J. Phillips

Prepared by: Michael Phillips (son)

Dr. Steven J. Phillips, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve (Ret.) was raised in Brooklyn, New York. His childhood heroes were Jackie Robinson and Alfred E. Newman of Mad magazine’s “What, me worry?” Dr. Phillips played lacrosse at Hobart College in Geneva, New York, and earned his M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Dr. Phillips deployed twice to Vietnam between 1968 and 1970. He served with the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Eagle in Phu Bai, where he provided critical surgical care under combat conditions as a Captain of a medical platoon – but still found time to surf. Playing an instrumental role in reopening a medical school in Hue that had been destroyed during the Tet Offensive, he also served as a triage physician at the 27th Surgical Hospital in Chu Lai.

Stateside, Dr. Phillips was assigned to the Department of Experimental Surgery at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. His contributions to cardiac surgery were historic and transformative. On Dec. 6, 1967, he was a key member of the surgical team that performed the first human heart transplant in the United States. In 1974, he started a heart surgery program in Des Moines, Iowa, which grew into the largest private heart program in the U.S.

In 1999, Dr. Phillips transitioned into public health, taking a senior position at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. With congressional approval, he established the Disaster Information Management Research Center, the world’s first center dedicated solely to disaster informatics and national disaster preparedness. The secretary of defense recognized his service in the care, management, and transition of recovering wounded, ill, and injured members of the armed forces. He authored 140 peer-reviewed medical publications and was awarded six patents that continue to influence cardiac surgery and emergency medicine today.

Always giving back to the community, Steve co-founded the Western Slope Veterans Coalition in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and serves on the board of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Reception Center. He is a lifelong Member of the 101st Airborne Association, an associate life member in the UDT/SEAL Association, and a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Chapter 0641. Steve is married to Susan Zeff Phillips, and they live in Coronado. They have five children and nine grandchildren.

The Avenue of Heroes military service recognition program is sponsored by the City of Coronado. Introduced in 2014, the program has honored 293 hometown heroes to date. On May 17, 2025, another 16 were honored. City staff and dedicated volunteers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422, the Coronado Historical Association and the Third and Fourth Streets Neighborhood Association oversee its operation.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Avenue of Heroes program – ten years of telling the stories of courage, sacrifice, and service that are woven into the fabric of Coronado.

The inspiration for the program emerged in 2011, when the community spontaneously came together to honor the passage of two fallen Navy SEALs to their final resting place. As news spread, members of the local Rotary Club handed out American flags, and residents lined Fourth Street in solemn tribute. As the procession neared the Coronado Bridge, a lone Navy SEAL stood at attention, saluting his fallen comrades. In that moment, it became clear: Third and Fourth streets were already an Avenue of Heroes.

That spontaneous beginning launched the program in May 2015 with 18 banners. Since then, the Avenue of Heroes has served as a powerful reminder of Coronado’s deep military roots and legacy of service.