Every Day Is a GiftEvery Day Is a Gift

Daughter of an American father and a Thai-Chinese mother, Duckworth faced discrimination, poverty, and the horrors of war, all before the age of 16. Through these experiences she developed a fierce resilience that would prove invaluable in the years to come. Duckworth joined the Army, becoming one of a handful of female helicopter pilots at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She served eight months in Iraq before an insurgent's RPG shot down her helicopter, an attack that took her legs, and nearly took her life. After thirteen months recovering at Walter Reed and learning to walk again on prosthetic legs, she found a new mission after meeting her state's senators, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin. This is her story as one of America's most dedicated public servants.