Tammy Duckworth

Thai-born military leader and politician

• Born: March 12, 1968

Tammy Duckworth joined the US Army Reserves while a doctoral student at Northern Illinois University. Despite losing both legs while serving in Iraq, Duckworth has served her country as an officer and civil servant. She has worked as an advocate for injured and disabled soldiers in the armed forces.

Full name: Ladda Tammy Duckworth

Early Life

Tammy Duckworth was born Ladda Tammy Duckworth on March 12, 1968, in Bangkok, Thailand. Her parents were Frank and Lamai Duckworth. Duckworth’s father, an American, had served in the US Marines and worked for the United Nations. Her mother was a native of Thailand. Eventually, Duckworth’s family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where she attended McKinley High School.

After completing high school, Duckworth attended the University of Hawaii, where she majored in political science. She later served as a Smithsonian Fellow and went on to earn a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University. It was during her time at George Washington University that Duckworth took an interest in the military and joined the school’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. The Duckworth family has a longstanding tradition of military service; since the American Revolution, at least one member of the family has served in the Armed Forces.

In 1991, Duckworth was admitted to Northern Illinois University as a doctoral student. In 1992, Duckworth became a commissioned officer in the US Army Reserve. A year later, she married Bryan W. Bowlsbey. In 2001, Duckworth was hired by Rotary International as manager of the organization’s clubs in the Asia Pacific Region.

Life’s Work

In 2003, Duckworth was called to active military duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom. While serving in Iraq, Duckworth flew helicopter missions for the US Army. On November 12, 2004, as she returned from an assignment, Duckworth’s UH-60 Blackhawk was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Although she and her crew landed the helicopter safely, Duckworth was gravely injured. Her right arm was shattered, and both legs were lost. She later recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. While there, Duckworth received several medals, including a Purple Heart.

In 2006, Henry Hyde, then serving as US representative for the Sixth Congressional District of Illinois, announced his retirement. While the Republican Party endorsed Peter Roskam as Hyde’s replacement, the Democratic Party endorsed Tammy Duckworth. Despite a valiant effort, Duckworth lost the race to Roskam. However, another opportunity in government opened up when then-governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich named Duckworth director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs in November 2006.

During her time at the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Duckworth instituted Veterans Adaptive Activities Day, the Illinois Warriors Assistance Program, and the GI Loan for Heroes mortgage program. In 2008, she was named Woman of the Year by the Asian American Bar Association of Illinois, chosen National Outstanding Disabled American Veteran of the Year by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and asked to be one of several speakers at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Duckworth as the assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. During her tenure as assistant secretary, Duckworth established the Office of New Media and the Office of Tribal Government Relations, along with several outreach programs for veterans.

Duckworth left the Veterans’ Administration on June 13, 2011. Several weeks after her resignation, she announced her intention to run for the US House of Representatives for the newly created Eighth Congressional District of Illinois. Duckworth was elected to the House and served two terms. In 2016, she was elected to the US Senate representing the Eighth Congressional District of Illinois. She was reelected in 2022. As a senator, she advocated for rebuilding the country's infrastructure and protecting the people of Illinois from lead poisoning, supporting minority-owned small businesses, and making college more affordable for all Americans. In 2018, Duckworth became the first senator to give birth while in office. After this, she sent a message to working families throughout the country about the importance of family-friendly working environments. To demonstrate, she secured a rule change allowing senators to bring their infant children onto the Senate floor.

Significance

Despite the injuries she suffered during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Duckworth persevered and refused to let a disability stop her from pursuing her dreams, serving her country, and living a full and active life.

Throughout her career, Duckworth has worked tirelessly to promote the rights of disabled veterans. She has instituted outreach and assistance programs to meet the needs of those permanently injured in the line of duty, as well as programs to reduce homelessness among veterans.

In the United States Congress, Duckworth’s committee assignments include the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Foreign Relations. In the House of Representatives she was a member of its Armed Services Committee, and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Duckworth is the author of an autobiography entitled Everyday is a Gift. In the book she details her introduction to war at an early age as her family fled Phnom Penh, Cambodia, while the war raged around her. She also details her training as a helicopter pilot, war injury, subsequent recovery, and her decision to enter politics.

Bibliography

Dominus, Susan. "Tammy Duckworth Was a Survivor Long Before Her Helicopter Was Shot Down.” The New York Times, hwww.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/books/review/every-day-is-a-gift-tammy-duckworth. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

"Duckworth Sworn Into Second Term as U.S. Senator." Tammy Duckworth official Senate website, 3 Jan. 2023, www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-sworn-into-second-term-as-us-senator. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

Flegenheimer, Matt. "Tammy Duckworth Is Nothing and Everything Like Joe Biden." The New York Times, 1 August 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/us/politics/tammy-duckworth-biden-vp.html. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

Goodin, Emily. “Politics Hotline Extra: Reporters from around the World Are Flocking to Illinois’s Sixth Congressional District to Cover the Open Seat Campaign between Democrat Tammy Duckworth and Republican Peter Roskam.” National Journal 38.42 (2006): 70.

Krigman, Eliza. “Duckworth’s New Mission.” National Journal 41.30 (2009): 61.

McKelvey, Tara, and Laurie Campbell. “Faces from the Front Lines.” Marie Claire13.3 (2006): 134.

O’Brien, Michael, and Cameron Joseph. “Former Obama Officer to Run for House Seat: Redistricting in Illinois Could Boost Duckworth’s Chances.” Hill 18.98 (2011): 13.

Rothberg, Emma. “Ladda Tammy Duckworth.” National Women's History Museum, 2023, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ladda-tammy-duckworth. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

Silver, Cary. “Reaching for the Sky.” Rotarian 184.4 (2005): 32–35, 45.

"Tammy Duckworth: U.S. Senator for Illinois” Senate.gov, 2023, www.duckworth.senate.gov. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.

Tammy Duckworth.” Ballotpedia, 2023, ballotpedia.org/Tammy‗Duckworth. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Nominations of the 111th Congress, Part I. 111th Cong., 1st sess. S. Doc. Washington: GPO, 2009. 126–67. Print.