Nixon leaves office - Aug 09, 1974 - HISTORY.com

Thanks for reminding us that the man who was disparaged as Tricky Dick voluntarily resigned instead of dragging the nation through an impeachment process. He left office on August 9, 1974 and retired with his wife to the seclusion of his estate in San Clemente, California.
His departure was a sad day for the people of South Vietnam as you point out SP5 Mark Kuzinski. After Nixon left office there was no champion for the people off South Vietnam. President Ford and the Congressional leadership seemed to have written off the people of South Vietnam and wanted to cut our losses.
I enlisted a few months after POTUS Nixon resigned and being a service member in uniform was not a pleasant experience in late 1974 or early 1975 as anti-war sentiment ran rampant through this nation.
LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 Charlie Poulton CW5 (Join to see) SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC William Farrell SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SSgt Robert Marx TSgt Joe C. SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert Hawks SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Forrest Stewart SrA Christopher Wright SPC (Join to see)

That famous picture......

There was another time when Nixon saved the nation from a shabby affair. Although there was plenty of evidence of election irregularities, especially in mob-dominated precincts like Chicago and New York, and Kennedy won by a hair-thin margin, Nixon's campaign team encouraged him to contest the results. He declined. He declined for the explicit reason that he didn't want to draw America into a tawdry affair that would cast doubt over the democratic voting processes. This always amazed me because, although I campaigned for Nixon in that election, I recognized that he was an extremely ambitious politician and that losing the Presidency hurt him deeply, especially when so many celebrated, not Kennedy's win, but rather his loss. There was a depth to his character that few realize. And, yes, sadly he was flawed. Socially awkward and unable to put his loyalty to his team aside and leave the Watergate burglars to their fate. He tried to cover for them and he was punished. Deservedly, he was given the ultimate punishment by having the prize he coveted ripped from his grasp.