Haynes loved basketball and played whenever he could. He attended West Philadelphia High School, than worked at his father's clothing shop as a presser for seven months. He was drafted into the Army in October 1967 and sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to Company E of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. The 20-year-old private first class died on Aug. 10, 1968, in the A Shau Valley, Tbua Thien Province, from wounds he suffered when he was bit by boo-by trap fragments. He was survived by his parents and two brothers.