Abel Rubio was born in Goliad County, Texas. Orphaned at age ten, after the tragic deaths of his parents, brothers, and sisters in an automobile accident, he went to live with relatives. Rubio dropped out of school at fourteen to go on the migrant trail-first to pick cotton in Texas, later to Wisconsin to pick cherries and hoe corn, then to Indiana where Rubio harvested tomatoes. He returned to his native Texas and joined the United States Marine Corps in early 1947, volunteering for combat service in Korea with the First Marine Division. He arrived in Korea in October 1952 and was assigned to a mine-clearing platoon in which he saw extensive duty. Returning to the United States in October 1953, Rubio was stationed in various posts here and abroad. He retired with over twenty years of active service. After an additional ten years in the Fleet Marine Corps Reserves, Sergeant Rubio was placed on the retired rolls in 1977. Rubio was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Fleet Reserve Association, Marine Corps League, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Texas Catholic Historical Society. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting, a profession he practiced in Houston, Texas. Rubio passed away December 10, 2012.