s small for his age and suffered through several childhood diseases. As a child he was quite and shy, a far cry from his personality traits in his later years. During his childhood his older brother Joe helped and protected him, and served as a role model for young Jack.
             From an early age the Kennedy children were taught by their parents that the United States had been good to the Kennedy's and that whatever the U.S. did for them must be returned by some service to the country. Jack took this idea to heart. Later it became the basis for a famous line from his inaguration speach in which Kennedy said: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."
             In school Kennedy excelled in history and english, but was a poor speller and struggled in math and science. Kennedy's sixth grade teacher noted his humor and competitive spirit.
             Kennedy graduated from Choate High School in Wallingford Connecticut and briefly attended Princeton University before enrolling in Harvard in 1936. While attending Harvard Kennedy wrote a brilliant honors thesis on British Foreign policies in the 1930s called "Why England Slept", which was later published. He graduated in 1940 and was voted most likely to suceed by his classmates.
             In 1941 Kennedy entered the the U.S. Navy shortly before the United States entered World War II. Following Pearl Harbor he applied for sea duty and became the commander of PT 109, a Navy torpedo boat.
             In 1943, while on active duty of the Pacific, the boat he commanded was rammed and sunk by the Japanese. In an act of heroism, Kennedy rescued and lead his crew ashore, but in doing so aggravated an old back injury and contracted malaria. He was discharged from the Navy in 1945.
             Kennedy returned home to Boston from the war with a citation for valor to began persuit of the political career his parents had envisioned for him. In 1946, the rich and ambitious young veteran joined the Democr...