If you walked past Raymond Thompson on the street, you wouldn’t know that he is a former Navy SEAL. If you were sitting at a table next to his at a restaurant, you wouldn’t know he is working to get his college degree so he can help people. But you will if you read on about this week’s La Porte County Life in the Spotlight
Thompson was born in Gary and raised in South Haven between Portage and Valparaiso. After graduating from Portage High School he went straight into the service. He was in a special group of people during bootcamp that were all EOD trainees.
“I originally wanted to be a pilot,” Thompson said. “But I was told that the rate who make it was very low and when I was 27 that I could have my name on the side of a plane. I was 17 when I heard that. So I asked a recruiter what the most challenging thing that I could do.”
The recruiter told him about the Navy SEALs. Thompson was interested and decided to give it a shot. He took the ASVAB test and scored 98 out of the 99 percentile, he then took another test and qualified to be a Navy Nuke. He had a goal though, which was to be a SEAL.
So Thompson went to boot camp in Orlando and then Tech School in Millington, and finally to SEAL training in Coronado.
“About 10,000 people try to become a SEAL,” Thompson said. “About 1% make it and about 10% of that 1% actually make it to graduation. It’s not a glamorous job. It’s not star-studded. But I met some individuals who I will never forget for the rest of my life.”
Thompson served during Desert Storm. He spent over four years of his life in the military, and during his time as a SEAL he did some incredible things and some challenging things. Not many people can say that they have swam in every ocean in the world, but Thompson can.
“You can choose to just do things in life, or you can choose to make a difference,” Thompson said. “At that time in my life I chose to make whatever difference I could. I don’t regret it.”
Currently, Thompson works at IU Health La Porte Hospital. He is going to school at Purdue North Central with his sights set on a becoming a physical therapist or athletic trainer.
“I wanted to be committed to helping people,” Thompson said. “I really enjoy training people and helping them when they are down, so I thought physical therapy would be the way to go.”
Thompson is married to a wonderful woman and they have a newborn. Thompson also has a teenage son and a daughter in college.
“I love my kids, and I try to lead by example for them,” Thompson said. “If I want them to do something good then I should be able to show them how by doing good myself.”