The Carolina Panthers secured their spot in Super Bowl 50, where they will play the Denver Broncos, after a nearly flawless season (18-1) and a recent victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship.
Under the direction of head coach Ron Rivera, the Panthers’ success this year was made possible. Rivera continues to inculcate in his team the virtues and teachings learned from his father, a veteran who spent 32 years in the U.S. Army.
Who is Eugenio Rivera, Ron Rivera’s father?
Eugenio Rivera, from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was drafted into the Army in 1952 and finished his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Eugenio Rivera is Rivera’s father.
He completed two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was stationed in the Mekong Delta, after receiving his Army engineering training and serving in Germany and France.
The worst childhood experiences Rivera can recall were those deployments. By the time of his father’s second deployment, Rivera had reached the legal age to comprehend his father’s travel plans.
Eugenio Rivera, however, found that his second deployment, during which he served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Army, was his most fruitful one.
“I used to support the schools, get the stuff they needed, and I helped them a lot. I enjoyed it,” Eugenio Rivera told USAA.
