Today we’d like to introduce you to John Morlock.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I served in the US Army from 1981 to 1997. While in I served in 3 combat zones on 3 different continents. The first six years I was a medic, then I retrained into satellite/microwave communications repair. While in the Gulf War, I served with Special Forces Command at King Fahd Air Base. I was then assigned to Seal Team 5 where I provided communications for the Commodore. Three weeks prior to the start of the ground war, I was selected to be on the “Jump Team” to liberate the US Embassy when the ground war started. I spent 3 weeks cross training with the other members of the small team. The was unnecessary as, when we arrived at the Embassy, a US flag was already flying over it as the Kuwaiti military that was already in the country had liberated it. I served 10 years in Europe and while there, became friends with the German national who was the President of the European Start Trek Fan Club. He asked me to perform security at the annual Star Trek/Sci-Fi conventions. I agreed. Over the next few years, I was personal body guard to such stars as William Shatner, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Denise Crosby, and many more. I retired from the Army in September of 1997. Having a wife and 3 sons to support, I took a job as an electronic technician at Micron Technologies in Boise, Idaho. A year later, on November 9th, 1998, while going through a rather difficult divorce, I attempted suicide by placing a .357 under my chin and pulling the trigger. The bullet traveled through my head and came out the top of my head. The surgeons performed a miracle and were able to save my life. I was in a comma for 3 weeks and my recovery took a little over a year. I finally returned to work at Micron. A little over a year later I was promoted to Technical Training Developer for the Test Department. A short while later, Micron began opening a new plant in Lehi Utah. I was then hired to be the Technical Training Developer for the Test Department in the new plant. I worked with the local college, Utah Valley State College, (now Utah Valley State University) and developed a new Electronics and Robotics Associate degree that more closely supported Micron’s needs. I coordinated to have the degree program taught on the Micron campus in Lehi. I remember 9/11 very well as it occurred on the second day of the new classes in 2001. In May of 2004 I left Micron and fulfilled a long time desire of mine to drive a semi truck across country. I went to work for Prime trucking in Springfield, Missouri. I drove a truck for 5 years. Following Hurricane Katrina, I drove relief supplies to a Walmart distribution center outside New Orleans. I moved to Lynden Washington where I worked for PACCAR, the parent company to Kenworth and Peterbilt where I drove prototype trucks. I came off the road in 2009 when I worked as a Field Supervisor for DirectTV. I retired in May of 2010. I moved to a house 5 miles south of Eldon, Missouri in February, 2012. In 2016 I began hearing about 22 veterans a day committing suicide and it hit me like a lightening bolt. THAT’S why God saved me from my suicide attempt. I knew I had to do something about it. I looked at my situation and asked, “What brought me to the point of pulling the trigger?” “What would have kept me from reaching that point?” I concluded that isolation was the one thing that contributed the most to my desparation. If a program like the Heroes Outreach Program had existed in my area, I would have had an outlet to discuss the stresses I was going through. I then started holding “Gatherings” of veterans and first responders in Eldon every Thursday evening. These Gatherings consist of nothing more than veterans and first responders simply sharing a meal together. This provides a simple and safe environment for our Heroes to combat the isolation that leads to throughts of suicide. Since then, we have established 8 different Gatherings in 8 different towns.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been anything but a smooth ride. Not having any experience with the non-profit world, I had to learn everything from the ground up. I used my own money to file for the 501c3 nonprofit status with the IRS. I coded our website and established an 800 number and email addresses for the organization. I solicited individuals I felt would be a great help to the organization to be members of a 7 member Board of Directors. I also had to learn to research and write grant applications. The main difficulty I have experienced is finding volunteers to aid me in the administration of the program. 2026 marks the 10th year of our holding Gatherings. In that time, I have only had one other volunteer assist in conducting the Gatherings. Unfortunately, this key volunteer, passed away from cancer in July of 2026. Thankfully, one veteran attending our Gatherings has volunteered to pick up some of the duties he performed. Upon starting Gatherings in a town, we soon become the focus of ‘everything veteran.’ Shortly after starting Gatherings in Eldon, I was approached by the Ministerial Alliance to aid in providing assistance to a veteran who was about to be kicked out of their apartment due to financial hardship. Having received a small grant for the Community Foundation of the Lake, I was able to get this veteran caught up on his rent, preventing him from becoming a homeless veteran. Over the past 10 years, I have assisted more than 11 veterans with utility bills to prevent families from losing power. I have taken veterans to thrift stores to purchase furniture to put into apartments they would now have to rent since losing their home to fire. I have assisted in moving a veteran to new apartment when he was evicted from his house. I have personally transported individuals to the homeless shelter in Columbia and to rehab facilities in Leavenworth, Kansas. We have paid to have an auto repaired for a veteran who’s only vehicle was involved in an accident. I work diligently to ensure veterans and first responders receive all the support they need as they deal with the unique struggles their service has burdened them with.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Since retiring from the US Army in 1997, I have held many jobs. I was an electronic technician for Micron Technologies in Boise, Idaho. I was the Technical Training Coordinator for Micron Technologies in Lehi, Utah. I drove a semi truck for Prime Trucking in Springfield, Missouri. I drove prototype trucks for PACCAR in Mount Vernon, Washington. I was an install technician for DirecTV. I was later a Field Supervisor with DirecTV. Since 2016, I have been the Founder/President/Program Administrator for the Heroes Outreach Program. Having no college education, I have been self-taught in all aspects of building and conducting the Heroes Outreach Program. I do not specialize in anything. I have to be all things to all veterans and first responders. I have no special education or skills. I am simply someone who saw a need and took a step forward to fill that need. Nearly everyone has a good idea for improving humanity. The only difference between them and people who actually make a significant impact on the struggles of life, is that the latter actually takes the first step to put into action their ideas. I suppose that would be the thing I am most proud of. I am simply a veteran who ‘blew his brains out’. I have no special skills or education. Just a desire to help save my fellow veterans and first responders from reaching the same place I found myself in.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is a funny thing. The greater the risk, the greater the chance of return. The great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man”. I like to say that, “Life is simply a series of decisions and consequences of those decisions.” If you make good, sound decisions, then your life will be a success. If you make poor decisions, then your life will be filled with having to deal with the consequences of those decisions. It has also been said that you miss 100% of the shots not taken. I’ve learned not be afraid of risk. If something seems risky, I prepare to minimize any risk and then to deal with the negative consequences that risk may result from the risk. Risk is to be prepared for. It is not necessarily a reason not to take action. Of course, if the risk is greater than any possible return, then, of course, it would be prudent not to proceed. Anytime you put yourself out into the public, you run the risk of suffering criticism of your work or your personal actions. Having attempting suicide, I kept this secret from the public for 18 years. This is not something that one brags about. Then, when I started the Heroes Outreach Program, I found that I needed to share my story in order to show other veterans and first responders that I had been there and I knew what they were going through. I took a risk in putting myself and my story out there. I was at the mercy of the judgmental public. I determined that the risk was worth taking in order to save the lives of my fellow veterans and first responders.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://heroesoutreachprogram.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeroesOutreachProgram/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heroesoutreachprogram
