This week on Urban Valor, we sit down with Army Veteran Daniel Perez. Born in Riverside, CA, Daniel grew up in a challenging childhood marked by his parents’ separation and lack of supervision. His early years were consumed by fighting, drug use, and being expelled from high school.
Motivated by stories of Iraqi sniper “Juba,” Daniel enlisted in the Army National Guard as an 11B infantryman. His deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan brought harrowing experiences, including a blue-on-blue firefight, MRAP crashes, and tense confrontations with civilians in life-or-death scenarios.
Daniel’s story also discusses the challenges of reintegration into civilian life, from battling mental health struggles to finding his footing after the Army.