Dame Ladda Since 2017, Tammy Duckworth, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Army National Guard and American politician, has served as the junior senator from Illinois. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Democratic Party representative for the 8th congressional district of Illinois in the United States House of Representatives.
Duckworth, who was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and reared in Honolulu, Hawaii, attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She fought in the Iraq War and holds combat experience as a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot.
She lost some mobility in her right arm and both legs in 2004 when a rocket-propelled grenade launched by Iraqi insurgents struck her Black Hawk helicopter. She was the initial female wartime double amputee. She was granted a medical waiver to continue her service in the Illinois Army National Guard for an additional ten years, until her retirement as a lieutenant colonel in 2014, notwithstanding her injuries.
Personal Life of Senator Duckworth
Bryan Bowlsbey and Duckworth were wed in 1993. They served together in the Illinois Army National Guard and got to know one another while Duckworth was a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Bowlsbey is an Iraq War veteran who serves as an officer in the Signal Corps. Since then, both have left the military.
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Abigail, who was born in 2014, and Maile, who was born in 2018, are Duckworth and Bowlsbey’s two daughters. With Maile’s birth, Duckworth became the first sitting U.S. senator to become a mother. The couple named both of their girls with the assistance of former senator Daniel Akaka, who passed away on April 6, 2018, three days before Maile was born.
A change in Senate rules shortly after Maile’s birth allowed senators to bring breast-feeding infants on the Senate floor. For Duckworth, this was a momentous occasion because she had earlier proposed the bipartisan Friendly Airports for moms (FAM) Act, which guaranteed new moms access to lactation rooms in airports that were clean, safe, and accessible.
Duckworth became the first senator to cast a vote while holding a newborn when she took Maile along the day following the rule change during a Senate vote. Duckworth was a founding member of the Intrepid Foundation, which supports wounded warriors.
Awards and Accolades Acheived by Senator Duckworth
Northern Illinois University bestowed upon Duckworth the honorary doctorate of humane letters in May 2010. In recognition of her efforts on behalf of disabled veterans, Access Living in Chicago presented her with the Gordon H. Mansfield Congressional Leadership Award in 2011.
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Duckworth has received over ten distinct military honors for her service in Iraq, the most prominent of which is the Purple Heart, which her Marine father had also been awarded. She was honored with induction into the Army Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
Bob Dole, a former Republican presidential candidate and current United States senator, partially dedicated his autobiography One Soldier’s Story to Duckworth. Duckworth attributes her decision to pursue public service to Dole during her recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Role in National Politics
Duckworth delivered speeches at the Democratic National Conventions in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. She served as the 2020 Democratic National Convention’s permanent co-chair. She referred to Trump as “coward-in-chief” at the 2020 convention for his refusal to support the American military.
Duckworth was evaluated as a potential running companion during the selection process for Joe Biden’s vice presidential candidate. Instead, Kamala Harris was chosen. As vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, Biden nominated Duckworth, Gretchen Whitmer, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Filemon Vela Jr.