JOHN EASON
Editor’s note: John’s story talks candidly about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, drinking, violence in war, brutality of war, and the aftermath. Reader discretion is advised. Most of this story is in his own words.
John Eason was born 7-JULY 1984 in Minden LA, near Shreveport and Bossier City. John’s parents are Brian Eason and Brenda Eason. John has one brother; Chancey and one sister; April. John attended Oak Grove High School, and attended Jones Junior College for a year. He then attended a hotel and restaurant program, Le Cordon Blue Culinary Academy. The academy had a new semester starting in two weeks and John hastily agreed to enroll. John would later say, “Stupidly, I signed up for a bunch of student loans and things and told my dad, I’m leaving for two weeks. And I went from Mississippi to New Hampshire. The loan rates were about 16% interest. They just keep rolling over on top of each other and when you turn around, you’re $100,000 to $150,000 in debt. That’s a stiff one to climb out of. The first thing they ask you is, do you want to defer it? Well, you’re young, you don’t have a job, you have little choice.”
Hurricane Katrina
“I liked cooking and baking, so I opened my own bakery after culinary school. I put every dollar I had into it, along with a business loan. We invested a lot of money into it including equipment, supplies, and stock. People seemed to really like it. I thought, here we go, it’s going to be good. I’d only had it open for two days when Katrina hit.”
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. Katrina formed on 23-Aug 2005, with the merger of a tropical wave and the remnants of a tropical depression. After briefly weakening to a tropical storm over south Florida, Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane before weakening to a Category 3 at its landfall on August 29 near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. Eighty percent of New Orleans, as well as large areas in neighboring parishes, were flooded. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 150,000 people remained in the City of New Orleans, despite mandatory evacuation orders. This prompted a massive national and international response effort, including federal, local, and private rescue operations. The largest loss of life was due to flooding caused by engineering flaws in the federally built hurricane protection system, particularly the levees around New Orleans.
“The guy who leased me the space, in the corner of an antique place, was supposed to cover me under his insurance. Well, he let his insurance lapse on Friday, and he was reopening with a new person on the following Monday. He really came out the bad end of it, because he had millions of dollars’ worth of other people’s antiques and things that were lost. The storm blew the whole roof off the place and the walls were blown walls down. The building was destroyed.
“I lost everything because of Katrina. We were without power there for two weeks. I was trying to figure out what to do, and that’s when I went and met up with my uncle to go join a hauling crew. So, I went to Spring Hill and helped them get everything ready. We went down to Metairie, Kenner, New Orleans, and we hauled debris and trash. We hauled some stuff from a chicken factory one time. The smell of those rotten refrigerators and the stink down there was so bad. I just kept thinking, ‘I don’t want to be doing this forever!’”
John decided to join the military when he lost his business. John said, “Honestly, I decided, right after Katrina, and I had lost the bakery, I needed something stable and something new.” John continued, “I was kind of turned off by the world at that point and kind of angry and wanted something that would help me take care of a family. I always thought it would be neat. Join the military and have something stable so I decided to join. I was going to join the Marines. My mom was not going to have that! We thought the Air Force was the safer route.”
John would join the Air Force, served for nearly nine years, and was deployed to Irag, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
Today, John is a Country / Western singer based in Nashville Tn. John candidly admits, “Music and the love of my family saved me.”
For more of his story, click on the pdf below.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers comprehensive mental health services, including treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance use issues, which can be accessed even if you are not enrolled in VA health care. You can contact your nearest VA medical center or Vet Center during business hours or call the helpline at 1-877-222-VETS (8387).
