Empowering Struggling Veterans in Stockton

Pastor of the Year helping Veterans in Northern California

Pastor John L. Easter, a native Californian, was born in Stockton, CA. He graduated from Edison High School in 1964 and went to Delta College in 1965. In 1966, John was drafted and was stationed in Fort Polk, Louisiana, where he encountered discrimination. John was deployed to Vietnam in 1967, wounded by shrapnel. While he was in Vietnam, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. This was one of the hardest times in his life.

There was propaganda, leaflets, and flyers stating, “your leader has been killed,” but he continued to fight for his country while praying to God that he would make it back alive. His missions were recon, search-and-destroy. He was on the front line 90% of the time, where he was most likely to be killed, but God was on his side.

In 1968, he was in a helicopter, dispatched to where others were under fire; they had to jump from 10 to 15 feet from the helicopter as the helicopter was unable to land.   When they landed, he fractured his foot, but there was no treatment at the time because of so many casualties. He walked for 90 days with his foot swollen and his boots tied tightly. He was finally taken to Medevac because the swelling would not go down, and later, he found out that his foot was broken. He only had 30 days left on his tour in Vietnam, and they still sent him back to the status with a cast. 

John later returned to school to be a carpenter and became a licensed general contractor.

After John’s discharge from his military duty, he faced many challenges and difficulties. He sought counseling and medical help and was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Because of what he went through, John wanted to help other veterans transition back into society to become productive individuals. He started the John L. Easter Homeless Veterans Program for Non-Commissioned Officers, a not-for-profit, section 501 (c)(3) entity.

In 1999, he also became an ordained Elder and minister. His organization continues to help veterans.