Memorial Day Salute: Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Other Women Warriors

We hear the words, “thank you for your service” so often these days that they lose meaning. And, of course, for the past year, they have been aimed at our heroic health care heroes. But as Memorial Day is upon us, it is a good time to focus on our veterans. Yes, they are survivors, but they still have to live with the wounds and memories.

And more and more are women. Their percentage in the armed forces is still small, but growing—some 17 percent by now. At a time when many have legitimate cause to disparage our political representatives, Veterans Mikie Sherrill, Jonie Ernst, Chrissy Houlihan, and Elaine Luria are making good trouble in Congress, advocating for those who have served. Former and current First Ladies Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have placed focus on the care and condition of returning veterans. And in the Senate, we have Tammy Duckworth, whose new book, Every Day Is A Gift, has just been published and is a gift in itself.