A Remarkable Story of Compassion and Achievement

In our frenetically-paced, privacy-challenged lives, what scenes possess the power to move a person to share a deeply personal story? For me, one such scene unfolded yesterday on the floor of the United States Senate. The scene was momentary, but its context bridged two centuries. 

Many years ago, as the crippling casualties from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were mounting, my father made a decision to return, after an absence of decades, to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. At Walter Reed, in the aftermath of Vietnam, my father had learned to deal with the emotional and physical trauma of having his leg amputated above the knee. It is the hospital where, against the odds, he learned to use a wheelchair, then crutches and, finally, a prosthetic leg.

The doctors and nurses at Walter Reed steered my father though his convalescence, but also helped to restore his humanity. An army of other supporters in my father’s life contributed to that effort as well. He went on to build a family and grow a career marked by many accomplishments.

Assembling that kind of track record amasses some emotional debts to repay, beginning with those at Walter Reed. He thus began a commitment -- at 15 years and counting -- as a volunteer counselor for the young men and women returning from war with missing limbs. He sits by their bedside and shares words of encouragement, silence, or constructive criticism depending on the situation. When I ask him about it, he shuns any credit, but always brags about the young people he is privileged to spend time with.

There was one particular woman he met at Walter Reed in 2004 that he talked about constantly. She was irreverent and whip smart, my father’s favorite personality type. Born in modest circumstances in Thailand to a Thai mother and American father, this woman would go on to serve the United States admirably in battle. Her military record as a combat helicopter pilot was stellar, and she would ultimately attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

When my father first met this accomplished pilot and officer, she had just arrived home from Iraq, a casualty of war. She was in a bit of a fog, and awakened to a strange man sitting at the foot of her bed. I later heard her say that, over time, she realized this strange man, my father, was actually her guardian angel. The helicopter she flew over Iraq had been shot down. She lost both legs, and her arm was hanging on by a thread. And yet, aside from her physical injuries, she needed, most of all, someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, a counselor with whom to imagine a different future than the present that faced her at Walter Reed.

Over the years, my father would tell me about this woman again and again. At times I would forget her name, but never his vivid descriptions of her resilience.

The woman would eventually marry and embark on a successful career. When she was appointed Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2009, it was my father who swore her in. She didn’t stop there. In 2012, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th Congressional District of Illinois, after which she and her husband had their first child. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and, just a week and a half ago, gave birth to her second child.

This week, the Senate passed a law allowing its members to bring their infant onto the floor for the purpose of feeding and caring for the child. This law was needed because, well, it’s never happened before -- no sitting U.S. Senator has ever given birth while in office. Yesterday, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois rolled her wheelchair onto the floor of the United States Senate with her new daughter, Maile Pearl Bowlsby, grasped in her embrace.

Senator Duckworth is a champion for the rights of disabled people, military veterans and women everywhere. More than that, she is a model for all of us on the importance of perseverance, optimism and faith. I read the news reports over the past days with deep pride and dug up this video of Tammy speaking about my father and her struggles. I thought it was important to share this with you.