John Shepard

Lieutenant Commander Shepard  is the human protagonist of the Mass Effect: Vigil series. Shepard was born on April 11, 2154, is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program (service no. 5923-AC-2826), a veteran of the Skyllian Blitz, and is initially assigned to the SSV Normandy in 2183 as Executive Officer. Shepard later becomes the first human to join the Spectres, an elite special task force for the Citadel Council.

History
Shepard was born an orphan raised on the streets of the great megatropolises covering Earth. He escaped the life of petty crime and underworld gangs by enlisting with the Alliance military when he turned eighteen.

During his service, a mission he was on went horribly wrong. Trapped in an extreme survival situation, he had to overcome physical torments and psychological stresses that would have broken most people. He survived while all those around him fell, and he alone was left to tell the tale. The Sole Survivor's unit was slaughtered in a thresher maw attack on Akuze.