Tammy Duckworth

Tammy Duckworth's story stops me cold every time. Born in Bangkok, she flew helicopters in combat and lost both legs to a rocket-propelled grenade, earning the Purple Heart and a chest full of decorations. Plenty of people would have let that define the end of their public life; she made it the beginning. She rebuilt herself into a U.S. senator from Illinois and an author who tells her own story on her own terms. What I admire most is not just the courage under fire but the refusal to be reduced to a symbol. She turned hardship into service, and that earns my deep respect.

Name (English)

Tammy Duckworth

Name (Japanese)

タミー・ダックワーズ

Reading

たみー・だっくわーず

Born

March 12, 1968 (age 58)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Monkey

Origin

Bangkok, Thailand

Occupation

politician / helicopter pilot / non-fiction writer

High school

President William McKinley High School

University

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Awards & achievements

• Purple Heart
• Air Medal
• Meritorious Service Medal
• Commendation Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
• Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
• Armed Forces Reserve Medal

• Official sitehttps://www.tammyduckworth.com
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/tammyforil/
• Xhttps://x.com/SenDuckworth
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy%20Duckworth
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3036410

Tags

• politician
• helicopter pilot
• non-fiction writer

Last updated

2026-06-16

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.