BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Wesley Leon Barrientos enlisted in the Army after 9/11, served three tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne — and came home believing he never would.
In December 2007, on his final deployment, the Humvee Leon was riding in hit a deeply buried, pressure-plate IED south of Baghdad. The blast took one leg and severely damaged the other. He also suffered a broken back and a traumatic brain injury.
But Leon said his biggest shock wasn't the loss of his legs. It was realizing he had survived.
"I always thought my destiny was to die over there. I thought that I was gonna die over there. People like me are not supposed to survive…," Leon said.
Leon woke up recovering in Germany, where the weight of his survival set in.
"The moment I woke up in Germany, and I realized the war is over for me. I survived the war. And that was kind of like the feeling that I had. I survived this thing," Leon said.
Surviving was only the beginning. Leon had to learn to live with prosthetics and with the invisible wounds of war. He says PTSD, anger and alcoholism became part of his struggle.
"I sought help. I sought help… I knew that this is something that I was going to deal with for the rest of my life… And finally… it led me back to God, and that's where I found my real healing," Leon said.
Today, Leon says his faith, his family and a strong support network help keep him grounded. And sometimes, it's the simplest moments that remind him he's more than what happened on the battlefield.
"I love the reaction of the kids… The kids are like, 'Are you a robot?' And I was like, 'Yes, absolutely,'" Leon said.
17 years ago, Wesley Leon Barrientos became the very first veteran helped by the Wounded Heroes Fund. Today, he is a business leader, athlete, community advocate and a public speaker who has addressed more than 1,000 events.
Now, he is returning to the organization that helped him nearly 20 years ago as the honorary speaker at "An Evening with an American Hero," a Wounded Heroes Fund fundraiser happening Saturday, Oct. 10.
"But what I hope it is, it's a night of inspiration, a night of hope, and a night that helps us raise a lot of funds for veterans in our community," Leon said.
More information is available at thewoundedheroesfund.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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