HONOREE:
Izzy Thompson
BRANCH:
U.S. Army
GAME:
Green Bay Packers vs. New York Jets
By Greg Bates
Special for Operation Fan Mail
When Israel “Izzy” Thompson entered the Army and left Wisconsin in 1999, he didn’t know when he would get back home.
This past June, Thompson, his wife, Janet, and their two boys got the opportunity they’d been dreaming about for years.
After more than 23 years in the military, Thompson—now a colonel and an active-duty military police officer—had an assignment choice to head to Wisconsin. He would be a Senior Regular Army Advisor to the Wisconsin National Guard. Thompson jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s a good job to be in and set the family up, stabilize the kids through high school, and stuff like that,” Thompson said. “Then finally buy the forever home and start having the eye toward retirement.”
Life is finally “normal”—as normal as it can be for a military family—for the Thompsons.
Thompson, who grew up in Milwaukee, is close to his family and friends. And he’s able to watch Packers games every week without needing an NFL package through Direct TV. That’s how the lifelong Cheesehead stayed connected with his favorite team while moving throughout the country and being deployed overseas six times.
“I’m from Milwaukee; everyone’s a Packers fan,” Thompson said. “It’s kind of like, do you breathe oxygen?
“I think I became an even bigger fan going into the Army because it was home. To watch a game with a little bit of that [feeling]—you’re home, it’s the Packers. You’re rooting for them. No matter where you are in the world, you can watch them.”
Chosen for Operation Fan Mail
Since Thompson has been removed from Wisconsin for so long, he’s never had many chances to attend Packers games at Lambeau Field.
He recently got the surprise of a lifetime when his wife, Janet, nominated him for the Operation Fan Mail program, and he was selected as the recipient for the Packers-Jets game on Oct. 16. The award is presented by WPS Health Solutions and the Packers.
“He’s been a lifelong Packers fan, and I saw this opportunity and thought it would be awesome to do this for him,” Janet Thompson said. “I think he deserves it. There’s just a lot that goes into being a soldier in this generation of soldiers. They’ve seen a lot. The deployments are not just a one-and-done — there was a period they were just repeated one after the other, almost.”
Thompson received four tickets and will be recognized on the field prior to the game. He can’t wait for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
However, Thompson noted he could feel a little awkward being in front of nearly 80,000 fans when he’ll appear on the in-stadium Jumbotron.
“I think the recognition, I kind of pride myself—I’m a pretty selfless person,” Thompson said. “I appreciate the NFL and the teams in their Salute to Service in general that they take the time to honor the service members, but I always kind of deflect it from me. I’m a pretty humble person, so I see it as less me, more celebrate the family and the sacrifices that my wife and kids have made.”
“In a way I just don’t think he would want the spotlight on him, just that’s kind of the way he is,” Janet Thompson said. “But I think he will be extremely proud. I think he’s excited, like a little kid at Christmas.”
Thompson will be bringing his mom, wife and one of the couple’s sons, 13-year-old Sam, to the game.
“I get the opportunity to take my mom, who watches the Packers religiously on Sunday but has never been to Lambeau Field herself,” Thompson said. “It’s a pretty big deal to her to have me move home.”
Thompson’s wife and kids have become Packers’ fans over the years just because they watch him cheer so hard for his favorite team.
The Thompsons attended their first Packers training camp this summer where the boys got to see the hallowed ground of Lambeau Field.
Thompson was actually thinking about getting tickets for his family to attend the Packers-Jets game.
“If there were a game we were targeting, because this is the only noon home game of the season, so it wouldn’t throw off school for them the next day,” Thompson said. “The weather still hasn’t turned, so to take them to their first game in January might turn into their last game.”
No need to buy tickets now. The Thompsons will be distinguished guests of the Packers.
Janet Thompson loves to see the passion for the Packers from her husband. Watching his team during the fall is a nice chance for him to unwind from his military duties.
“It’s something to focus on that’s relaxing, fun, brings the family together,” Janet Thompson said. “It’s something we can do as a family. It’s a reminder of home and he just really enjoys reading about the stats, he enjoys reading about the players. He just really keeps up with everything, so that is what it is for him.”
Serving the U.S. overseas
Thompson has an athletic background. He attended Marquette University High School and played offensive guard and nose guard for his team that won the WISAA Division 1 state title in 1994. He was also a conference wrestling champion during his high school days.
Thompson graduated from high school in 1995 and earned an ROTC scholarship; he was a distinguished military graduate at Marquette University.
Just a couple years into his military service, Thompson was sent to Washington, D.C., following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He was assigned to the Pentagon just days after a plane struck the United States’ primary Department of Defense building.
“We guarded the crash site initially is what we got sent there for,” Thompson said. “Then we ended up providing security to the Pentagon as they stood up a civilian guard force.”
It was a humbling experience for Thompson to be at the Pentagon after the tragic event.
“We were guarding the area and they were finding body parts,” Thompson said.
“You had all the emotion of 9/11 and the fact that you were in the Army and that was all very raw. Then you went up to the actual site where you’re looking at the hole, and you got the recovery operations there recovering the people that were lost. You’re working with the people that were in the building when it happened. At that time, you started having all the anthrax scares. We kind of as a nation awoke at what the terrorist threat was at home.”
Thompson spent 7.5 months guarding the Pentagon.
He had four combat deployments that followed: Afghanistan in 2004 (10 months), Iraq in ’07 (seven months), Afghanistan in ’08 (seven months) and Afghanistan in ’11 (one year). Thompson also served two tours in Japan in 2000 and ’03. Thompson earned many awards throughout his career, including two Bronze Star Medals and a Legion of Merit; however, what he values the most is when the soldiers he has led in the past reach out to him as a mentor.
After returning to the U.S. following deployments, Thompson and his family moved throughout the country.
In February of this year, Thompson was sent on a no-notice deployment during the invasion of Ukraine. He initially went to support the evacuation of American citizens and support humanitarian assistance. Thompson was back on American soil in June so he could move with his family to Wisconsin.
Settling in Wisconsin
“For a long time, I didn’t think we’d come back—my wife’s not from here,” Thompson said. “I just never pictured moving back to the cold and not knowing jobwise what we were going to end up doing and kind of where the family would kind of want to settle down. This job opportunity was out there, and it just kind of fell into place and made the most sense for the family and where we were at the time. Getting here, we couldn’t be happier. The kids love it. Wisconsin’s great people, family is here, we’re in a great area, great community where we live, and the kids are in great schools.”
His son, Sam, and his 15-year-old son, Andrew, are both happy to be able to settle in one place.
Thompson knows it’s been a rollercoaster the last 23.5 years being in the military, and his wife’s been there for most of the ride. Janet Thompson also served in the Army for five years.
Thompson plans on serving another two to three years in the military before retiring. He’s ready to settle down and make Wisconsin home again—this time for good.
“He’s very proud to be from Wisconsin, I can say that 100%,” Janet said. “He’s definitely happy to be back by his family, because there aren’t many places active duty that you can be that are near his family.”
The appearance of U.S. military visual information does not imply or constitute endorsement by the U.S. military.
