John F. Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at
Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Colorado. His father, Richard, volunteered in
the Army Air Corps and flew DC-3's and B-29's as a test pilot during World
War II. His mother, Rosemary, was a lifelong community activist and
devoted parent. She was a Girl Scout leader for 50 years, and one of her
proudest possessions was her 50 year Girl Scout pin. She was an
environmentalist and a community activist.
Not long after John Kerry was born, the family settled in
Massachusetts. Growing up there, his parents taught him the values of
service and responsibility and the blessings of his Catholic faith,
lessons John Kerry carries with him to this day.
Because his father was a Foreign Service Officer in the Eisenhower
administration, John Kerry traveled a lot when he was young. On these
trips, he learned firsthand what makes America a leader in the world - our
optimism and our democratic values. And he learned that nations across the
world share many common goals and that the best way to achieve them is
through building strong alliances.
As he was graduating from Yale, John
Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam, because, as he later said, "it was
the right thing to do." He believed that “to whom much is given, much is
required.” And he felt he had an obligation to give something back to his
country. John Kerry served two tours of duty. On his second tour, he
volunteered to serve on a Swift Boat in the river deltas, one of the most
dangerous assignments of the war. His leadership, courage, and sacrifice
earned him a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple
Hearts.
But John Kerry's wartime experience
taught him a painful lesson that he could not forget, even after he
returned home. In the midst of battle, he had seen the lives of his fellow
soldiers, his friends, put at risk because some leaders in Washington were
making bad decisions. He decided he had a responsibility to his friends
still serving, the friends he had lost, and his country, to help restore
responsible leadership in America.
So he decided to become active as a
Vietnam Veteran Against the War (VVAW). He became a spokesman for VVAW and
later co-founded Vietnam Veterans of America. Only 27 years old, John
Kerry sounded this call to reason in April 1971 when he testified before
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and posed the powerful question,
"How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
Later, John Kerry accepted another tour
of duty - to serve in America's communities. After graduating from Boston
College Law School in 1976, John Kerry went to work as a top prosecutor in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He took on organized crime and put behind
bars "one of the state's most notorious gangsters, the number two
organized crime figure in New England." He fought for victims' rights and
created programs for rape counseling.
John Kerry was elected Lieutenant
Governor in 1982. In that office, he organized the nation's Governors to
combat the acid rain that was polluting lakes, rivers, and the nation's
water supply. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate
and he has won reelection three-times since. He is now serving his fourth
term, after winning again in 2002.
John Kerry entered the Senate with a reputation
as a man of conviction. He confirmed that reputation by taking bold
decisions on important issues. He helped provide health insurance for
millions of low-income children. He has fought to improve public
education, protect our natural environment, and strengthen our economy. He
has been praised as one of the leading environmentalists in the Senate,
who stopped the Bush-Cheney plan to drill in the Artic National Wildlife
Refuge.
John Kerry has never forgotten the
lessons he learned as a young man – lessons that have been strengthened in
his 19 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has learned
that America must work with other countries to achieve our goals and the
world's common goals. From his ground-breaking work on the Iran-Contra
scandal to his leadership on global AIDS, John Kerry has distinguished
himself as one of our nation's most respected voices on national security
and international affairs.
As chairman of the Senate Select
Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, he worked closely with John McCain to learn
the truth about American soldiers missing in Vietnam and to normalize
relations with that country. As the ranking Democrat on the East Asian and
Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, he is a leading expert on that region,
including North Korea.
Years before September 11th, John Kerry wrote The New War, an in-depth
study of America's national security in the 21st Century. He worked on a
bipartisan basis to craft the American response to September 11th and has
been a leading voice on American policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war
on terrorism, the Middle East peace process and Israel's security.
John Kerry would not be running today if
it were not for the enthusiastic support of his family. He is married to
Teresa Heinz Kerry, and they have a blended family that includes two
daughters, three sons, one grandchild, and a German Shepard named Cym.