Joe Louis was born on May 13, 1914, in Lafayette, Alabama. He made his amateur boxing debut in 1932, and began boxing professionally in 1934. Louis became the world heavyweight champion in 1937, and was still the reigning world champion when he was inducted into the U.S. Army on January 14, 1942. Pvt Barrow was assigned to a cavalry unit based at Fort Riley, Kansas, for basic training, and because of his fame as a professional boxer, the Army assigned him to the Special Services Division. During World War II, he traveled around the world, staging 96 boxing exhibitions, and was used extensively for recruitment purposes. Joseph Barrow was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army as a Tech Sergeant on October 1, 1945. He was one of only a handful of enlisted personnel to be awarded the Legion of Merit during World War II. After leaving active duty, Louis returned to his professional boxing career, and remained the world heavyweight champion until his retirement in 1949. He died on April 12, 1981, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

His Legion of Merit Citation reads:

For exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services from 30 August 1943 to 10 October 1944. As a member of a Special Services Division Mission which toured through Army camps in the United States and the European North African-Mediterranean and Italian Theaters of Operation, Staff Sergeant Barrow has entertained two million soldiers by frequent boxing exhibitions which entailed considerable risk to his boxing future as the champion heavyweight of the world, but he willingly volunteered such action rather than disappoint the soldiers who desired to see him in the ring. Whenever possible he visited the camp and theater hospital and his encouragement to sick and wounded soldiers had a definite recovery value and morale lift. His services merited and received acclaim from ranking commanders in the various theaters.