John Kerry

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is seen boating with his family in Massachussetts at age 6. Kerry grew up the son of a career diplomat father and well-off mother, bouncing from Swiss to New England boarding schools.

Kerry relaxes with his puppy V.C., while stationed in the Mekong Delta in 1969, during the Vietnam War. On Feb. 28, 1969, Lt. Kerry's crew came under rocket attack in the Mekong Delta; Kerry ordered his men to beach the boat in the thick of the enemy position, and won a Sllver Star for his conduct there.

Kerry, second from left top, with members of his Naval crew aboard PCF-31 in the Mekong Delta in 1969.

Lt. Kerry receives a military decoration for his service in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. A war hero with three Purple Hearts among his decorations, Kerry said "The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence, and who are given the chance to die for the biggest nothing in history."

Kerry, right, and Capt. Ron Hubbard talk about the war in Vietnam on ABC's "Meet the Press" with Laurence Spivak, left, April 18, 1971. Kerry testified to Congress on April 22, 1971, on behalf of veterans against the war.

Kerry is seen with Jackie Kennedy in this undated photo. Kerry once went sailing with President John Kennedy, dated Jackie Kennedy's half-sister, Janet Auchincloss, and as John Forbes Kerry, is the only candidate who can call himself "JFK."

Kerry campaigns in Lowell, Mass., with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., during his first race for the U.S. Senate in 1984. In the Senate, Kerry has been overshadowed by Kennedy, the senior senator from Massachusetts, but he carved out a niche his penchant for investigation, including the Reagan administration's secretive dealings with the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

Kerry, D-Mass., poses in Washington in 2001 with second wife Teresa Heinz, who he married in 1995. Widow of Pennsylvania GOP Sen. John Heinz, and principal heir to the family's prepared foods fortune, the new couple poked fun at her riches during Kerry's re-election campaign, when he asked her how she liked Massachusetts. "I love Massachusetts," she deadpanned. "How much is it?"

Kerry sits with Sen. John Glenn, R-Ohio, from left, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in Vietnam in 1995. McCain was a prisoner of war in Hanoi when he heard about Kerry leading anti-war protests, and was so incensed that he campaigned against Kerry in later years. Since then they have visited the prison, the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," together and formed a close friendship old comrades in arms would understand.

Kerry, left, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., meet with reporters on Capitol Hill, March 13, 2002, to discuss automobile mileage standards being debated on the Senate floor. Kerry, who led the fight for a 50 percent fuel economy increase, said automakers clearly have the technology, and with a 13-year lead time would be able to make the fuel economy improvements without sacrificing size or safety.

Kerry is seen in 1996 with his daughters Alexandra, top, and Vanessa, and stepson Chris Heinz, right, in Boston, Mass. Kerry has two daughters from his first marriage, and three stepsons with Teresa Heinz.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., left, and Kerry shake hands at a March 7, 1997, ceremony in Washington marking the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In background from left are Sen. Bob Kerry, D-Neb., Sen. Chuck Robb, R-Va., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., front. The six senators all served in the Vietnam War.

Kerry arrives on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle at a rally at his Des Moines, Iowa, headquarters, July 26, 2003. The motorcycle is owned by Sen. Kerry's Iowa campaign manager John Norris, although the senator says he has his own Harley in Massachusetts.

Kerry aims his double-barrel shotgun while hunting pheasant near Colo, Iowa, Oct. 31, 2003.

Kerry points to the media at a book-signing event for his book "A Call To Service," at a Barnes & Noble store in New York, Oct. 17, 2003.

Kerry takes a bite of a doughnut hole while calling voters on primary day with Vietnam veteran James Rassmann, left, at Kerry's campaign headquarters in Manchester, N.H., Jan. 27, 2004. Kerry saved Rassmann's life when he pulled him out of the water during combat in Vietnam.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., claps with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, during a campaign rally in Nashua, N.H., Jan. 25, 2004.

With a television monitor in the background, Sen John Kerry, D-Mass., announces that he has early stage prostate cancer during a press conference on Capitol Hill, Feb. 11, 2003. He successfully underwent surgery the next day, and his doctor said he would not require follow-up radiation treatment.

Kerry hugs his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry at a victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, after he was declared the winner of the Iowa Caucus, Jan. 19, 2004. A string of victories in other states followed, and after winning the Illinois primary on March 16, Kerry was well past the number of delegates needed to secure the nomination at the Democratic convention in July.