Kerry's Daughter Defends Father

ANDOVER, Mass. - Vanessa Kerry joked about life on the campaign trail while visiting the elite boarding school she and her father attended, but she turned serious when recalling criticism of Sen. John Kerry's service in the Vietnam War.

"I don't know how many of you saw the Swift boat ads in August ... but they were proven to be lies," Kerry, 27, told about 1,100 students and teachers at Phillips Academy. "The fact that three weeks of lies were allowed to perpetuate on the airwaves, attacking the character of my father after he served his country, is really sad."

A group of Vietnam veterans, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, claims that Kerry didn't deserve the three Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star and the Silver Star he was awarded during the war.

Vanessa Kerry, one of two Kerry daughters, declined to answer a question about her own views on Iraq. She said her opinions sometimes diverge from her father's, such as on the issue of gay marriage, which he opposes in favor of state-sanctioned civil unions.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&e=2&u=/ap/20041027/ap_on_el_pr/vanessa_kerry