10. A Lasting Legacy
After his resignation and retirement to public life, Richard Nixon went on to write ten books, as well as maintain unofficial diplomatic duties between the U.S. and the nations of the world. Through his efforts, he continued to rehabilitate his image with the public, and ultimately came to be somewhat accepted back into the Washington fold. Newsweek proclaimed, "He's Back!", and to a certain extent he was as he advised and supported political figures like Ronald Regan, butt heads with the State Department during the Carter Administration, and met with world leaders who still held him in good standing. On April 18th, 1994; Richard Nixon suffered a stroke, which hospitalized him for four days before his passing. He was buried on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in his birthplace of Yorba Linda, California. No matter what was thought of him during his career, or after for that matter, Richard Nixon is history's charge now. It will remember him as either the man who let his paranoia get to him and made a huge mistake that sent his career into its death spiral, or it shall remember him as the man who fought to have everything he earned, and ultimately made good with the world again. To paraphrase Band of Brothers, we salute the office of the Presidency, even if we don't always salute the man. Happy birthday, Mr. President.
Resources used in preparation of this article are as follow: The Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, Shuttle Diplomacy, Paris Peace Accords, and Nixon Interviews Wikipedia Entries "Richard Nixon Goes on Laugh-In", by Dan Fastenberg at Time Magazine"When Elvis Met Nixon", by Peter Carlson at Smithsonian Magazine