James H. Webb Jr. (D)

Born: Feb. 9, 1946, St. Joseph, Mo.

Residence: Falls Church.

Education: BS, engineering, U.S. Naval Academy, 1968; JD, Georgetown University, 1975.

Public Service: Secretary of the Navy, 1987 to 1988; assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, l984 to l987; counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, 1977 to 1981; Marine Corps, 1969 to 1972.

Military: Arrived in Vietnam in 1969 where he served as a platoon leader with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts. Went on to serve as an instructor at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School before leaving the Marine Corps in 1972.

Books:  Fiction: "Fields of Fire," l978; "A Sense of Honor," l981; "A Country Such As This," 1983; "Something To Die For," 1991; "The Emperor's General," 1999; "Lost Soldiers," 2001. Non-fiction: "Micronesia and U.S. Pacific strategy: A Blueprint for the 1980s," 1974; "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America," 2004.

Movies: Writer and executive producer for 2000's "Rules of Engagement," which starred Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. Paramount purchased movie rights to his novel "The Emperor's General" in 1998. His original script "Whiskey River" was optioned by Warner Bros. Studios in 2005 and will be directed by Rob Reiner.

Journalism: Won an Emmy award in 1984 for his coverage of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon for Jim Lehrer's "NewsHour."

Family: Father James, deceased, served as an Air Force colonel. Mother Vera is 81. Siblings include sisters Patricia and Tama and brother Gary, who became a Marine helicopter pilot. His third wife, Hong Le Webb, is a securities lawyer who was born in Vietnam and escaped with her family after the fall of Saigon.

Webb has four children: Amy Hogan, 36; James "Jimmy" Robert Webb, 24; Sarah C. Webb, 23; and Julia A. Webb, 21. His wife, Hong Le, is expecting another child in December. His son, James, is a Marine serving in Iraq.

--- Source: The Washington Post and JamesWebb.com