Tammy Duckworth

Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator
from Illinois
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Serving with Dick Durbin
Preceded byMark Kirk
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 8th district
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byJoe Walsh
Succeeded byRaja Krishnamoorthi
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
In office
April 24, 2009 – June 30, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byLisette Mondello
Succeeded byMichael Galloucis
Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs
In office
November 21, 2006 – February 8, 2009
GovernorRod Blagojevich
Pat Quinn
Preceded byRoy Dolgos
Succeeded byDaniel Grant
Personal details
Born
Ladda Tammy Duckworth

(1968-03-12) March 12, 1968
Bangkok, Thailand
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Bryan Bowlsbey
Children1
MotherLamai Duckworth
FatherFrank Duckworth
Alma materUniversity of Hawaii, Manoa
George Washington University
Northern Illinois University
Capella University
Signature
WebsiteGovernment website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Illinois Army National Guard
Years of service1992–2014
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Unit 106th Aviation Regiment, 28th Infantry Division
Battles/warsIraq War (WIA)
Awards Purple Heart
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal
Army Commendation Medal with Oak leaf cluster
Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with four Oak leaf clusters
Combat Action Badge
Senior Army Aviator Badge

Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician. She is a United States senator from Illinois. She was a U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first Asian American woman elected to Congress in Illinois, the first disabled woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first member of Congress born in Thailand.[1]

Early life

Duckworth was born on March 12, 1968, in Bangkok, Thailand, to an American father, Franklin Duckworth, and his Thai wife, Lamai Sompornpairin.[2] Her father, who died in 2005,[3] was a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.[4]

After moving to Illinois, Duckworth began a PhD program at Northern Illinois University.[5] She completed a PhD in human services at Capella University School of Public Service Leadership in March 2015.[6][7]

Military service

Duckworth was working toward a Ph.D. in political science at Northern Illinois University when she was deployed to Iraq in 2004.

She lost her right leg near the hip and her left leg below the knee[8] from injuries sustained on November 12, 2004, when a helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.[9] She was the first American female double amputee from the Iraq War.[10] The explosion severely broke her right arm and tore tissue from it, causing major surgery to repair it.

Duckworth received a Purple Heart[9] on December 3 and was promoted to the rank of major on December 21 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center,[11] where she was presented with an Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal.[9] She retired from the Illinois Army National Guard in October 2014 as a lieutenant colonel.[12]

U.S. House of Representatives

Duckworth was sworn into office on January 3, 2013.[13]

On April 3, 2013, Duckworth publicly returned 8.4% ($1,218) of her congressional salary for that month to the United States Department of Treasury in solidarity with furloughed government workers.[14]

On June 26, 2013, during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Duckworth received national media attention after questioning Strong Castle CEO Braulio Castillo on a $500 million government contract the company had been awarded based on Castillo's disabled veteran status.[15][16] Castillo had injured his ankle at the US Military Academy's prep school, USMAPS, in 1984.[17]

U.S. Senate

Duckworth ran for the United States senate seat against the current senator Mark Kirk in the 2016 Illinois senate elections. On November 8, 2016, she defeated Kirk in his bid for re-election to his U.S. Senate seat.[18]

In April 2018, Duckworth gave birth to her daughter Maile, making her the first U.S. Senator to give birth while in office.[19]

In July 2020, she became one of the finalists for Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 election.[20]

Personal life

Duckworth has been married to Bryan Bowlsbey since 1993.[21] They met during Duckworth's participation in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and served together in the Illinois Army National Guard.[21] Duckworth and Bowlsbey have two daughters: Abigail, born in 2014,[22] and Maile, born in 2018.[23] Maile's birth made Duckworth the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office.[24] Former Senator Daniel Akaka helped the couple name both girls; Akaka died on April 6, 2018, three days before Maile was born.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Mark (February 14, 2007). "Duckworth's husband Iraq-bound". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  2. ↑ Faulder, Dominic; Fang, Alex (July 30, 2020). "Asia watches as Bangkok-born Tammy Duckworth rises in US politics". Nikkei Asia. Tokyo, Kapan.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Phillip (June 21, 2005). "Downed pilot finally hears uplifting words she awaited". STLtoday.com. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  4. ↑ O'Connor, Phillip (June 19, 2005). "Pilot flew Black Hawks to serve her country – and please her father". STLtoday.com. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Tammy Duckworth receives honorary doctoral degree from NIU". NIU Today. DeKalb, IL. June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Countdown to commencement". capella.edu. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015.
  7. ↑ Duckworth, L. Tammy (2015). Exploring Illinois physicians' experience using electronic medical records (EMR) via the UTAUT model (Ph.D. thesis). Capella University.
  8. ↑ Sexton, Connie; Camire, Dennis (March 17, 2005). "Can-do spirit rises from crash". Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Shane, Leo III (June 14, 2005). "The pedals were gone, and so were my legs". Stars and Stripes.
  10. ↑ O'Toole, Molly (May 14, 2012). "Unseen: Trailblazing Military Women Forced To Fight For Recognition, Equal Treatment". The Huffington Post.
  11. ↑ Toth, Catherine E. (October 18, 2007). "Hawaii school honoring Iraq war vet grad". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, HI. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Duckworth Retires". Public Affairs Office, Illinois National Guard. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ Santostefano, Melanie (January 5, 2013). "Tammy Duckworth Sworn in to Congress". Palatine Patch. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  14. ↑ Kiene, Chelsea (April 4, 2013). "Tammy Duckworth Returns Portion Of Salary In Sequestration Solidarity". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  15. ↑ Graham, D. A. (June 27, 2013). "Tammy Duckworth's Impassioned Shaming of a Faux-Disabled Vet". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  16. ↑ Thompson, M. (June 27, 2013). "Service-Connected Dissembling". Time. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Duckworth Scolds Contractor Over Phony "War Wound"". NBC Chicago.
  18. ↑ Giroux, Gregory (August 13, 2015). "Senate Watch: Illinois Republican Mark Kirk Facing Tough Re-Election Challenge". Bloomberg Politics. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Stack, Liam (April 9, 2018). "Tammy Duckworth Becomes First U.S. Senator to Give Birth While in Office". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  20. ↑ Sullivan, Sean (2020-07-05). "Duckworth emerging as a contender to be Biden's running mate". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Fergus, Mary Ann (June 29, 2007). "Duckworth on homefront as husband off to war". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL.
  22. ↑ Skiba, Katherine (November 20, 2014). "Rep. Tammy Duckworth gives birth to daughter". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  23. ↑ Anapol, Avery (2018-04-09). "Duckworth gives birth to baby girl". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  24. ↑ Stevens, Heidi (January 24, 2018). "Tammy Duckworth expecting 2nd child; will be 1st sitting senator to give birth". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  25. ↑ Stack, Liam (April 9, 2018). "Tammy Duckworth Becomes First U.S. Senator to Give Birth While in Office". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2018.

Other websites

Media related to Tammy Duckworth at Wikimedia Commons

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