A group of veterans is kicking off a week-long 100-mile hike across San Diego on June 18 to raise awareness for PTSD and a national nonprofit.
Marine veteran John Shafer is among those who will be participating in the hike, which benefits Semper Fi & America’s Fund, a nonprofit that provides a lifetime of support to critically wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families.
Shafer, a native of New Braunfels, Texas, attended a baseball showcase after graduating high school and was offered a scholarship that same night.
“My future was set, so I thought,” he said. “After one semester, it was clear collegiate baseball was not for me. I came back home and worked dead-end jobs until one afternoon, when working for a landscaping company, I talked with a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant about his beloved Corps. And that was it, went to Albertsons where all the recruiting stations were and visited one office, the Marines.”
Shafer would serve in the Corps for nine years, from 2005 to 2014, with four overseas deployments.
“In 2007, I deployed to Ramadi, Iraq,” he said. “That’s when war got real for me, that’s when my friend was blown up by an IED and severely wounded. I took his place and just a few days later we hit another IED. Not as severe, but it still rocks your world.”
By 2011, Shafer was a sergeant assigned to 3rd Bn, 7th Marines - a non-deployable unit that trained Navy corpsmen before they were assigned to Fleet Marine Force units.
“It was chill and I enjoyed the slower op tempo, but I had friends dying or getting hurt pretty bad in Afghanistan, and it didn’t sit right with me,” he said. “So, I got orders and went to Sangin, Afghanistan. That deployment forever changed my life. I lost friends and family alike. My grampi passed away while I was gone and I think he knew we weren’t going to see each other again. I will never forget our conversation one night around Halloween time. He said he was proud of me and what I was doing. I was like a son he never had.”
Shafer said that Sangin “sucked, but at night when it wasn’t chaos, it offered some of the prettiest sunsets and had the clearest skies where you could see all the stars. There was some peace amidst the chaos.”
Shafer re-enlisted in the Corps for a third time in 2013 and deployed to Sangin again. He would leave the Marines in 2015. Shafer said his service caused him to change over time.
“War and chaos became normal, controlled violence and hostility became second nature to me; I didn’t have time to stop and think,” he said. “That got people killed, unfortunately. My mind couldn’t separate when forward deployed or stateside. I needed it, almost as if I was more so accepted for my calmness in the storm. I don’t know. I would wake up in cold sweats on the side of the bed with my head in my hands, crying. I could hear the screams of one of Marines after he stepped on an IED over and over. “
Shafer would also relive closing the body bags of friends as they were being carried away.
“I would go 0 – 100 in milliseconds and I learned to hide emotion and or feelings. Stuffed it down in the bottom of my rucksack,” he said. “Nobody cares. I have a job to do; I have Marines to lead and a reputation to uphold. Until it fell apart.”
Shafer said the very thing he thrived off was what ultimately ended his career.
“I got in trouble on two separate occasions and suddenly the Marine Corps no longer needed me,” he said. “I was administratively separated one day before my EAS with nothing but questions and nobody to answer them. I grew resentful and became dissociated with empathy and feelings of others. I am doing whatever is going to satisfy me and my needs and that’s it.”
Shafer initially received counseling at a Vet Center and attended VA groups and meetings.
“I told them what they wanted to hear and played the game,” he said. “It benefited my ego but did nothing to progress or address the issues.”
At the time, Shafer said he “dabbled in and out of the gym, went to school full time and worked part time here and there. It was hard fitting back in after having everything to include my reputation, stripped from me.”
Shafer got involved with The Fund in 2017 when he was facing eviction.
“I had struggled with working and maintaining any normalcy,” he explained. “I drank in excess and grades fluctuated enough where I was in trouble with the school and VA GI Bill requirements for maintaining my enrollment. I needed help, monetarily but also with guidance, accountability, friends, and that feeling of belonging, that I matter.”
Shafer said he eventually began taking his physical fitness seriously. That, combined with a DUI, was what got him in line, he added.
“I met a group of veterans at an event called 2023 PTSD Century Hike – Kansas. I met guys who ran 100-mile ultramarathons for fun,” he said. “I met tier 1 operators and gentlemen similar to me in our experiences but who were kicking butt in life and I was still picking up the pieces. It showed me the niche I had been missing since the Corps and I had brothers again who I could relate to and hold me accountable. It reignited that fire and I began to find peace with running."
Shafer and his fiancée, Kelcie, plan to marry in September of 2026.
“She has seen the shift and positive growth, but also some heartbreaking lows,” he said. “I’ve attempted to take my life on two occasions. Once prior to children and once in our current home. Yet she always stuck by my side. Celebrated the victories and wiped away my tears when needed. We aren’t officially married yet, but in September of 2026, we are hoping to finally tie the knot.”
This will be Shafer’s third hike with The Fund.
“The last two, I served as a mentor and found sharing my experiences and being vulnerable and honest have helped connect me with others,” he said. “It’s odd at times to be applauded for my resilience when I know I have tried to give up, but it somehow resonates with people and either gives them hope or shows them it’s not that bad, I don’t know exactly.”
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.