He was joined by crew members of a Navy gunboat he commanded during the that war.

CNN: Blasting Bush, Kerry makes it official

He was a gunboat officer on the Mekong Delta, earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Kerry served as a gunboat officer on the Mekong Delta, earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

CNN: Source: Obama to tap Kerry to be next secretary of state

The fourth kind of empire, suggests Mr Darwin, was a more informal one in places such as Argentina and Egypt where British influence was exercised through commerce, investment and shrewd diplomacy (occasionally of the gunboat kind).

ECONOMIST: The British empire: Pondering the past | The