John Kerry's Parents - Richard and Rosemary Kerry

[angrydemocrat]

Richard Kerry was spending his summer at Saint Briac as an apprentice in a sculptor's studio when he met Roesmary Forbes. The two had fallen in love. Richard Kerry graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover Mass., and Yale University, and was attending Harvard Law School. Rosemary had planned to be a nurse. Richard was on his way to becoming a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot, but the ocean of distance seperated them. Rosemary was in France looking out over the waters from the family compound. To the north loomed the English Channel. But to the east the Nazi's were preparing to attack.

On July 14,1940 Rosemary fled the family compound just ahead of the German invading forces. She made her way to Paris only to find the capitol was under seige as well. She stopped only long enough to write Richard Kerry.

She wrote: It is a shock to find a country that was once admired and loved crumbling away, eaten through it's core by rotteness. Fleeing residents were so excitable and scared. If you seen the men fighting, leaving screaming women and children to fend for themselves. The streets all around the station were crowed with people who spent day and night on the pavement waiting for the train to take them away to safety.

In Paris Rosemary absorbed the frightening sight. With her medical training she wanted to stay and help the Red Cross. But within a day or so she fled on a bicycle leaving behind everything except Richard Kerry's picture. She once again stopped long enough to write Richard.

She wrote: We left after the gas and electricity was shut off and explosives were going off where they were blowing up gas tanks. At dawn the Germans entered Paris. We pushed towards Orleans, missed being bombed. By taking a longer route we saw the planes going on the mission of death and had to duck to miss their machine guns. I am so scared of coming to America but with you I know everything will be all right.

Rosemary headed to unoccupied Southern France and finally made her way to Portugal where she sailed to America. Richard Kerry now training for the possibility of fighting the war that Rosemary had left behind, awaited her arrival at a military base in Alabama. Shortly after arriving in the United States Rosemary learned that the Nazi's had taken over the family compound in Brittany and were using it as a lookout against a possible British invasion.

Rosemary went to Alabama and accepted Richard Kerry's proposal for marriage. They married in Jan. 1941, and they went on to have four children Margret born in Nov.1941, John born Dec.1943, Diana born 1947, and Cameron born in 1950.

[angrydemocrat]

1. kick

:kick:

[angrydemocrat]

2. kick

:kick:

[angrydemocrat]

3. kick

:kick:

[angrydemocrat]

4. kick

:kick:

[angrydemocrat]

5. kick

:kick:

[ginnyinWI]

6. a.dem--I printed out all of your articles

It must have taken at least 21 sheets of paper--but it will be worth keeping. thanks!