John Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimons Military Hospital in Denver, Colorado, where his father, Richard Kerry, who had volunteered to fly DC-3's in the Army Air Corps in World War II, was recovering from tuberculosis.
A bit after John Kerry was born, the Kerry family returned to Massachusetts. His family raised John within the auspices of the Catholic faith and - according to John Kerry's pr people - he is still an active member of the church.
John Kerry attended Yale University, and upon his graduation entered the US Navy. He became a Swift officer and served on a gunboat in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. While some controversy surrounds what he did with his service medals, he did receive a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and was awarded the Purple Heart three times.
For the next decade or so, he was involved in anti-Vietnam groups and later served in various political posts.
In 1984 John Kerry ran and was elected to the US senate. In 1990, 1996 and again in 2002, he was reelected to his post as senator.
Senator Kerry is currently serving his fourth term in the senate and is the Democratic frontrunner the Democratic party has put forth to challenge Republican President George W. Bush.
John Kerry is married to billionaire and Heinz fortune heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry. John Kerry has two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa. Teresa has three sons from a previous marriage - John, Andre and Christopher. The Kerry's live in Boston, Mass.
John Kerry happens to share the same initials as John F. Kennedy.
