Wounded Veteran CPL Josue Barron Gets A New Home In Temecula, CA Outfitted To His Needs

The Gary Sinise Foundation helps disabled veterans, CPL Josue Barron, by providing a specialized home for him

As a youth growing up in Cudahy, Calif., Josue Barron did not have a clear path to many opportunities. At 13, he joined a gang. After a few years of living a dangerous lifestyle in the streets of Los Angeles, Josue knew it was time for a change. After graduating high school in 2007, he decided instead to live by a different code of brotherly love and security – that of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Raised by a single mother, Barron said the Marine Corps itself was like a father figure to him growing up. “I didn’t have a dad, so the Marine Corps became my father. There was discipline, so I feel like it became that role model that I needed to become who I wanted to become,” he said.

After Infantry training, he joined the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5) in Camp Pendleton. Between training and deployments, he met the love of his life, Debbie Salazar. The two married in February 2010, seven months before Josue deployed to Afghanistan.

On Oct. 21, 2010, CPL Barron was conducting military operations in Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when he was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion. The blast resulted in the loss of his left leg above the knee as well as his left eye and caused multiple severe shrapnel wounds to his face and hands. “I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I knew what I wanted. One thing I didn’t know was, I didn’t expect to lose a limb,” he said.

The veteran, a recipient of the Purple Heart, said his wife and mother were by his side through it all. “My wife became my main support system. My mom was there. So I had two strong women with me every step of the way,” he said.

Barron said using a prosthetic leg means nonstop pain. “Walking on your prosthetic is pain daily. You’re in constant pain, and people will never see that. They just see somebody walking on a prosthetic,” he said. “When I come home, I want to sit down in that wheelchair and relax.”

Barron applied to be considered by the Gary Sinise Foundation. “We go through a rigorous deep dive into their qualifications,” said Elizabeth Fields, COO of the Gary Sinise Foundation. “At some point, it’s up to Gary to make his final approval.”

Barron said when he received the call from Sinise himself, he knew that he and his family were going to be OK.

In January of 2012 in Falbrook, Calif., Josue and wife Debbie held a huge celebration to mark Josue’s recovery, and to renew their vows in front of friends and family. The following summer they had even more good news to celebrate: Josue was approved to receive a mortgage-free home in Southern California from Homes For Our Troops and its Home Award Program.

After receiving their HAP home, Josue and Debbie started a family, and they are now busy raising three young boys. The couple has developed an interest in family entertainment, leading them to create their own business called American Dinosaur Events, which provides lifelike walking dinosaur costumes for birthday parties, classrooms, and corporate events. In 2017, Jose earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Phoenix. He also works for a company that provides realistic training and stunts for law enforcement and the military leading him to be cast as a stuntman in the movie Peppermint (2018).

Josue says he is appreciative of the opportunity of homeownership through Homes For Our Troops and its Home Award Program. “My experiences have made me the man I am today, and the scholar and professional I hope to become,” he says.

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