Major Barnes, 50, of Los Angeles, California was a member of the Tactical Command Post, 40th infantry Division, California Army National Guard assigned as an individual augmentee to the 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. He died June 4, 2009 of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over while serving in Afghanistan.

As a young man, Maj Barnes worked as a coal miner before getting into the security field. He provided security for several Hollywood stars and became head of West Coast operations for the security company Vance International. He later became the chief operating officer for Fishman Productions, a Hollywood Production company based at the studios of Paramount Pictures.

An Ohio native selected for the elite Special Forces, the Green Berets, he served two tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. He served as the Commander of the United States Army Special Forces HALO Detachment.

SSgt Jason Murphy stated about Maj Barnes “Rocco was an OIC to a detachment of Marines and not only speaking for myself, he was the best officer and mentor that we have ever had. This man was a legend and a true warfighter.”