"I knew there must have been something better than what I was doing--KP.," recalls Dr. Barnes, an African-American who served as an officer in the Pacific. Born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, he finished high school in 1940 and studied at Southern University until he entered the U.S. Army in spring of 1943. After completing Officer Candidate School he was commissioned a second lieutenant at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. Dr. Barnes was shipped overseas to the Philippines where he served as a port officer, supervising a battalion in unloading of cargo ships on Leyte and Luzon. Dr. Barnes was discharged in September of 1946 and returned to Southern University where he played football for a year, and then coached. He became dean of students at Central Louisiana Trade School in Alexandria, and then helped to open Booker T. Washington High School in Shreveport. He returned to Southern University in 1960 as director of student personnel.