My name is John Thompson, I am running for Iowa House of Representatives District 80. I was raised in Marshall, Texas with a strong religious and conservative upbringing. Several men in my family served in various branches of our military, and their sacrifices impacted their communities for our country.

 

Because of that I enlisted in the Army when I was 17. At the age of 18 I faced my first deployment to Iraq in defense of our country; at 21 I was deployed again to Afghanistan. During this deployment I was wounded and learned who I am as a person and the grit, determination and fight inside of me.

 

After my discharge I came face to face with the same struggles many veterans do that also affect civilians in different ways. My journey through addictions and mental health struggles ignited my passion to want to create change for those around me. Part of my success through this journey comes from the support of my wife and the village we have around us with family, church, community and my faith. In 2016 I married the love of my life and have since gone on to expand our family to include 5 beautiful children.

 

Working through some of my past struggles together we founded Salute to the Fallen, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping veterans and first responders with mental health struggles through a variety of programs. We have helped countless families in our communities and have begun to bridge the gap between veterans and the civilians around them that they serve.