John Kerry was born on December 11,
1943 at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, 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 side by side with America’s military might.
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. For his leadership, courage, and sacrifice under
fire, he was decorated with 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 when he
came home to the United States, John Kerry spoke out against
a policy he felt gave politicians political cover while soldiers
bore the real burden. At 27 years old, John Kerry sounded a call
to reason 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?" He also
began a lifelong fight for his fellow veterans – joining
with other vets to found the Vietnam Veterans of America to fight
for veterans’ benefits, for extension of the G.I. Bill
for Higher Education, and for treatment of PTSD.
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 by the largest
margin in Massachusetts history.
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 President Bush’s 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 needs the strongest military on the face of the earth – and
that America should lead 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.
In 2003, John Kerry announced that he would be a candidate for
president of the United States -- and he went on to mount a come
from behind campaign that won the Democratic nomination. The
American people reminded him once again that people are the same
wherever you go, and he continues in the United States Senate
fighting for what motivated him to enter public life in the first
place: love of country and the call of duty.
In his life of public service, John Kerry is sustained by his
loving 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 Shepherd.
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