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 Arctic 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.