A Senator Backs the Ex-Army Surgeon Who Saved Her Life

Tammy Duckworth is backing the doctor who once kept her alive on a battlefield in his bid for a seat in Congress. Duckworth on Thursday endorsed Dr. Adam Hamawy, the former Army surgeon who helped save her after her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. Hamawy, now a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in New Jersey, has launched a Democratic campaign for the safely blue 12th District, where Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman is retiring, reports NBC News. Duckworth praised Hamawy as a leader "with the courage to speak truth to power" and said it's "because of his sacrifice" that she was able to go on to serve in the Senate.

The two share a long history that now runs through multiple war zones. Hamawy treated Duckworth after she lost both legs and partial use of her right arm in Iraq, and this year she helped him when he was stuck in Gaza while providing emergency care to Palestinians (he's spoken publicly of his work there). "We did save each other's life," Hamawy said Thursday, describing how Duckworth pushed Biden administration officials and pressed Israel's ambassador to secure safe passage for him and other aid workers out of Rafah. Their bond, Hamawy said, comes from a shared belief that "we don't leave anyone behind." The New Jersey Globe notes that the 56-year-old father of four has never run for political office before.