Johnny Shaw

Johnny Shaw was raised in a bicultural household to parents John W. Shaw Jr. of Lamesa, Texas and Ana Maria Cuellar of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Johnny’s father was a former U.S. Army officer—who had served in South Vietnam—and had met his mother while working in the oil and gas industry in Santa Cruz. The petroleum field would take Johnny’s family to various Latin American countries, which is where he was born prior to living stateside. Due to the political instability throughout Latin America during the 80’s, Johnny’s father moved the family to Celina, TX, so he could work overseas rest assured that the family was safe.

In turn, Johnny’s grandfather, John W. Shaw Sr.—a combat veteran in the Pacific Theater— served in the 1st Cavalry Division, which awarded him the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. His influence swayed Johnny to follow his father figures’ footsteps by enlisting into the army upon completing high school in 1998. Johnny deployed to Camp Eagle, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999 under SFOR-5; Camp Eagle, Republic of South Korea in 2000; and proceeded to Illesheim, Germany before being admitted into the United States Military Academy Preparatory School in 2001. He would graduate from the United States Military Academy in 2006 and commission as a military intelligence officer with a branch detail in the infantry.

Johnny would serve as an army officer for sixteen years. He served his platoon time with the experimental task force and then executive officer time in HHC, 1-37 Armor, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, TX. Upon completing his branch detail and entering the army’s special operations forces tribe, he served in 1st Battalion, 8th Psychological Operations Group and 4th Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group where he deployed to Mexico and Central America, Iraq, and Kuwait. Throughout his time as an officer, Johnny looked to overcome inferiority complexes from “missing out” as a way to ignore childhood trauma and impostor syndrome. Eventually, the self-induced stress and low self-esteem would lead to a career ending mishap.

Acknowledging that he was miserable, Johnny chose to retire from the military. Yet the stressors in erasing a part of his life that he had identified with for so long led to a midlife and identity crisis. He had spent the majority of his life surrounded by veterans and active-duty soldiers; and he had no idea who he was outside of the uniform. Prior to leaving the service in 2022, the years 2019-2021 were lows that COVID lockdowns only compounded. Exiting the military felt like abandoning his tribe, and as an individual leaving a strong collective—all he felt was isolation, severe loneliness, and despair.

After the death of his stepmother in the fall of 2022, Johnny realized that he needed help. A close friend recommended that he seek out and speak to Warrior Pathh mentors. He did and attended Warrior Pathh in his home state of Texas. Connecting with other veterans, he understood that he too was not alone. His experience was shared by many, and the program curriculum provided him with the insights to go inward and undergo a transformation from soldier to a life’s artist by accepting endings—bittersweet as they may be—and allowing the mystery of life to unfold for new beginnings.