IN: Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, serving as the junior United States Senator for Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she earlier represented Illinois' 8th district for two terms (2013-2017) in the United States House of Representatives. Before election to office, she served as Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (2009-2011), and she was the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (2006-2009). In the 2016 election, Duckworth defeated incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk for the seat in the United States Senate.

On November 21, 2006, several weeks after losing her first congressional campaign, Duckworth was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs by Governor Rod Blagojevich. Duckworth served in that position until February 8, 2009. While she was Director, she was credited with starting a program to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and veterans with brain injury.  On September 17, 2008, Duckworth attended a campaign event for Dan Seals, the Democratic candidate for Illinois's 10th congressional district. Duckworth used vacation time, but violated Illinois law by going to the event in a state-owned van which was equipped for a person with physical disabilities. She acknowledged the mistake and repaid the state for the use of the van.  In 2009, two Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs employees at the Anna Veteran's Home in Union County filed a lawsuit against Duckworth. The lawsuit alleged that Duckworth wrongfully terminated one employee and threatened and intimidated another for bringing reports of abuse and misconduct of veterans when she was head of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth is represented in the suit by the Illinois Attorney General's office. The case was dismissed twice but refilings were allowed. The court set a tentative trial date of August 2016 and rejected the final motion to dismiss. The state announced that it had settled the case in June 2016 for $26,000 with no admission of wrongdoing. Although the plaintiffs later indicated they did not want the settlement, the judge vacated the trial.  Also in 2009, the Illinois Auditor General released an audit of the Veteran's Affairs department. Some issues noted by the audit predated Duckworth's tenure, while the majority of the audit covered Duckworth's tenure. Findings of the audit included a fiscal year 2007 report that was not completed on time, failure to conduct annual reviews of benefits received by Illinois veterans, and failure to establish a task force to study the possible health effects of exposure to hazardous materials. The routine audit covered a two-year period, June 2006 to June 2008, and the findings were described by the auditor's department as "typical" in its audits.  On February 3, 2009, Duckworth was nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The United States Senate confirmed her for the position on April 22. Duckworth resigned from her position in June 2011 in order to launch her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois' 8th Congressional District.

How long did she work with the VA?

OUT: On February 3, 2009, Duckworth was nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.


IN: David Monroe Shoup (30 December 1904 - 13 January 1983) was a decorated general of the United States Marine Corps who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, became the 22nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, and, after retiring, became one of the most prominent critics of the Vietnam War. Born in Indiana to an impoverished family, Shoup joined the military for financial reasons. Rising through the ranks in the interwar era, he was twice deployed to China during the Chinese Civil War. He served in Iceland at the beginning of U.S. involvement in World War II, and as a staff officer during the Pacific War.

David Monroe Shoup was born on 30 December 1904 in Battle Ground, Indiana. His family lived on a farm in Ash Grove, but moved to Covington to live on a new farm in 1916. At age 12 he was enrolled in Covington High School, a competitive high school with an advanced curriculum. Shoup was an excellent student, maintaining high marks in French, English, physics, and history. Additionally, he was involved in several extracurricular activities, including basketball, and was class president in his senior year. He graduated in 1921. He later affectionately referred to his impoverished upbringing as that of an "Indiana plowboy." Regarded by friends as very sociable, he met Zola De Haven in his freshman year and later said he had been instantly attracted to her. They were both very competitive in academics and athletics, and the two dated throughout high school; they were married in 1931.  After high school, Shoup attended DePauw University where he was one of 100 awarded the Edward Rector Scholarship, giving him full tuition. Majoring in mathematics, he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity and maintained high marks, narrowly failing the selection criteria for Phi Beta Kappa Society. He was on the track and field and rifle teams, and also competed in the wrestling and football teams. He won the Indiana and Kentucky Amateur Athletic Union marathon in 1925. He waited tables, washed dishes and worked in a cement factory to help pay his expenses. Lack of funds compelled him to take a year off after his junior year to teach school, and his expenses were further strained when he contracted a severe case of pneumonia and incurred hospital bills. He opted to enroll in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) to offset his living expenses, and later recalled that this was the only reason he joined the military. He graduated from DePauw in 1926.  From an early age, Shoup was molded by the progressive ideas of Indiana politicians, sympathizing with rural progressives fighting against the interests of big businesses. He developed an anti-imperialist attitude, and his skepticism about American foreign policy, influenced by his small-town background, made him an outspoken opponent of the unnecessary use of military force. He felt the use of troops for economic or imperialist consideration was wrong, a viewpoint he would carry for his entire career.

Did he graduate?

OUT:
He graduated from DePauw in 1926.