Wounded Body Warrior Spirit: Darkhorse Marine Cpl. Josue Barron

Wounded Body Warrior Spirit: Cpl. Josue Barron

Defense Media Activity - Marines
Story by Lance Cpl. Chelsea Flowers

Cpl. Josue Barron lost his left leg and left eye in an improvised explosive device blast, Oct. 21, 2010. But he will never forget where he came from or who he is: a member of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment ... the Darkhorse Battalion. It is this pride that drives him to excel as he competes against other Wounded Warriors in the 2012 Marine Corps Trials. Barron is from Cudahy, Calif.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Pride. That’s one thing Cpl. Josue Barron will always have. You can see it as he sinks three-pointers on the basketball court and as he maneuvers his hand-crank bicycle to the front of a race. Most of all, you can see it in his eyes – his eye to be exact. Where Barron’s left eye once was, a prosthetic stamped with the symbol of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, stares out. Barron’s prosthetic leg also sports a 3/5 patch, a custom design of his own.

To Barron, pride in where he came from means everything. And pride is what drives him as a Wounded Warrior.

In October 2010, Barron, a native of Cudahy, Calif., was deployed with 3/5, the Darkhorse Battalion. During the deployment, Darkhorse lost 24 men, more than any other Marine unit in Afghanistan in support of operations there. During a patrol, Barron’s friend stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost both his legs and a few of his fingers. Barron lost his left leg and left eye. He considers himself lucky.

Now Barron is competing in wheelchair basketball and hand-cycling with more than 300 injured Marines, veteran and allies in the 2012 Marine Corps Trials.

Barron sat down with us for a few minutes to share his perspective on a life very unique for a 22-year-old.
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