PO2 ANTHONY THOMPSON

Houston, TX

Mission Accomplished on Jan. 22, 2011

 
On April 20, 2007, Naval Petty Officer Anthony Thompson was on his second deployment to Iraq with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines Fox Company 3rd Platoon, near Fallujah, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive under an overpass where Thompson and his Marines had taken up post. During recovery efforts, Anthony was found unresponsive on a pile of concrete rubble.

After being transported to three separate Battalion Aid Stations, Petty Officer Thompson was finally stabilized for transport to Landstuhl, Germany. As a result of the blast, he sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), an incomplete spinal cord injury, and a punctured right lung. Eventually, Anthony was airlifted to the James A. Haley VA in Tampa, which specializes in brain and spinal cord injuries.

Before his injury, Anthony enjoyed playing and watching football and baseball, bowling, going to the movies, and listening to music. His son, AJ, was born after his injuries. His wife, Ivonne believes that Anthony knows the support that surrounds them. She says that having a home where the family can be together is a dream come true.

Homes For Our Troops presented the Thompson family with their home on Jan. 22, 2011. Thank you to everyone who supported this project.

Ivonne says their family continues to live happily under one roof. AJ wakes every morning and runs to his dad’s room to say good morning. Before bedtime every night, he tells his dad all about his day. “Life is almost as it should be, but more importantly, the one certainty we have is we are happy and HOME,” she says.