Mansfield Congressional Leadership Award. Duckworth is heavily decorated for her service in Iraq, with over 10 distinct military honors, most notably the Purple Heart, an award her Marine father had also received. Former Republican presidential candidate and Senator from Kansas Bob Dole dedicated his autobiography One Soldier's Story in part to Duckworth. Duckworth credits Dole for inspiring her to pursue public service, while she recuperated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; although, in 2006, Dole endorsed Duckworth's Republican opponent, Peter Roskam. Personal life Duckworth has been married to Bryan Bowlsbey since 1993. They met during Duckworth's participation in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and later served together in the Illinois Army National Guard. Bowlsbey, a Signal Corps officer, is also a veteran of the Iraq War. Both have since retired from the armed forces. Duckworth and Bowlsbey have two daughters: Abigail, who was born in 2014, and Maile, born in 2018. Maile's birth made Duckworth the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office. Former senator Daniel Akaka helped the couple with the naming of both daughters; Akaka died April 6, 2018, three days before Maile was born. Shortly after Maile's birth, a Senate rule change permitted senators to bring children under one year old on the Senate floor to breastfeed. This was a symbolic moment for Duckworth, as she had previously introduced the bipartisan Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act to ensure new mothers access to safe, clean and accessible lactation rooms in airports. The day after the rule change, Duckworth brought Maile with her during the casting of a Senate vote, making Duckworth the first senator to cast a vote while holding a baby. Duckworth helped establish the Intrepid Foundation to help injured veterans. Electoral history Bibliography Every Day is a Gift: A Memoir, Little, Brown & Company, 2021. See also List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress List of United States senators born outside the United States Women in the United States House of Representatives Women in the United States Senate References External links Senator Tammy Duckworth official U.S. Senate website Tammy Duckworth for Senate campaign website |- |- |- |- |- |- 1968 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American amputees United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Members of the United States Congress of Chinese descent American people of Thai descent American politicians with disabilities