YORBA LINDA – Nearly 200 Vietnam POWs — plus their families — will gather at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in what will be their largest reunion in years, and perhaps their last.

The reunion will take place 40 years to the date when President and Mrs. Nixon hosted these American heroes for the largest dinner ever held at the White House, on May 24, 1973, on the South Lawn.

*POW EVENTS ARE PRIVATE, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

MONDAY, MAY 20:

• SPECIAL EXHIBIT OPENING: An All-American Homecoming, highlighting the POW’s historic homecoming and White House dinner hosted by the Nixons. Exhibit includes large murals of the White House dinner, memorabilia, POW bracelets, the suit and gown worn by the Nixons at the homecoming dinner and other artifacts.

THURSDAY, MAY 23:

• 12:30 PM: POW MOTORCADE:  Sheriff and Patriot Guard-escorted POW motorcade of 10 buses travels to the Nixon Library on the 57-freeway and east on Yorba Linda Blvd. to the Library. Public invited to view and welcome.
• 1:00 PM:   ARRIVAL CEREMONY for motorcade at the front steps of the Nixon Library. Band, red carpet. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
• 1:05 PM:   POW EXHIBIT TOUR with Ed Nixon, President Nixon’s brother; Christopher Nixon Cox, President Nixon’s grandson; Cdr. Everett Alvarez, 8-year POW; Lt. Col. Tom Hanton, President of NAM POWs and POWs.  POWs tour the Library galleries, 1:00pm-3:00pm.
• 3:30 PM:   DEDICATION CEREMONY of “Veterans Honor Roses,” with POW representatives of the five services planting roses dedicated to the POWs.
• 4:00 PM:   OFFICIAL PROGRAM, POWs and families assemble in the Pat Nixon Amphitheater for program including wreath-laying ceremony.
  Program: “Missing Man” aircraft flyover, formal wreath laying to President Nixon, Presentation of Colors, presentation of tribute certificates and pins from the Department of Defense, musical performance by Tony Orlando, military 21-gun salute and playing of Taps.  1st Marine Division Band plays from 3:45pm-4:00pm
  
• 5:00 PM:   POW CELEBRATION FAMILY BBQ under tents at the Presidential Helicopter.

FRIDAY, MAY 24:

• 4:45 PM:   POW OFFICIAL PORTRAIT taken outside in the Pat Nixon Amphitheater. Black tie, same as White House dinner 40 years earlier.
• 5:00 PM:   RECEPTION, the Pat Nixon Amphitheater.
• 6:00 PM:   ALL AMERICAN HOMECOMING BANQUET in the White House East Room.
  Program includes: Special rendition from POW chorus that sang at the White House, video tributes from Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and remarks by Cong. Ed Royce, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and business leader and POW advocate Ross Perot

SATURDAY, MAY 25:

• 10:30 AM: FREE PUBLIC POW PROGRAM in the East Room featuring a panel discussion on the extraordinary POW experiences and celebratory homecoming.
  Participants: Cmdr. Everett Alvarez, 8-year POW; Lt. Col. Tom Hanton, President of NAM-POWs, 9-Month POW in North Vietnam; Capt. Mike McGrath, 6-year POW; Cmdr. Paul Galanti, 6-year POW and  Roger Shields, Nixon White House POW/MIA coordinator.

FOR COVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES CONTACT:
JONATHAN MOVROYDIS at 714-364-1126 or jmovroydis@gmail.com
JOE LOPEZ at 714-364-1147 or joe@nixonfoundation.org

Richard Nixon Presidential Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda, Ca 92886

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WHAT:
This is the 40^th anniversary of the Vietnam POWs homecoming to America. In honor of these American patriot heroes, the Nixon Library presents a special exhibit that covers the historic homecoming and White House dinner hosted for the POWs and their families by President Nixon.

The exhibit, An All American Homecoming, will display artifacts and memorabilia from the dinner including the formal attire worn by President and Mrs. Nixon, video commentary by POWs and life-sized portrayals of President and Mrs. Nixon, Irving Berlin, Bob Hope and Sammy Davis Jr.

Additional artifacts include the American flag that was secretly made from a handkerchief and pieces of cloth and string by the POWs in the “Hanoi Hilton,” Irving Berlin’s original handwritten sheet music of “God Bless America” that he sang at the dinner and POW bracelets and pins that were worn to show support for the POWs and MIAs back home and invitations, menus, and the seating chart from the White House dinner.

The exhibit is included with regular library admission.

FOR COVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES CONTACT:
JONATHAN MOVROYDIS AT 714-364-1126 OR jon@nixonfoundation.org
JOE LOPEZ AT 714-364-1147 OR joe@nixonfoundation.org

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5/16/13

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“The purpose of this initiative is to review history and look into the future,” said Madame Li, daughter of President Li Xiannan, who toured the Great Wall as a high ranking official with President Nixon in February 1972. “Even with the differences the two nations have, there is still adequate common ground we can tap into.”

Shanghai was the final stop for Mr. Quinn and the Nixon Foundation’s China legacy delegation, which retraced President Nixon’s historic steps in commemoration of his centennial birthday. The city’s Vice Mayor, Tu Gangshong, received the delegation at the Jianjang Hotel.

Earlier that day, the President’s grandson Christopher Nixon Cox, Fox News national security commentator and former Kissinger staff assistant KT McFarland, and other members of the delegation participated in a forum with scholars from the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

“We must take baby steps,” McFarland said about resolving major economic and strategic issues in U.S.-China relations.

McFarland’s analysis seemed to articulate a similar view stated in the historic communiqué – which called for progress toward normalization, and for each nation to avoid seeking “hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.”

For President Nixon, China’s more than one billion people, and its domestic and international progress were vital to global security.

“Taking the long view, we simply cannot afford to leave China outside the family of nations,” he wrote in his seminal 1967 Foreign Affairs article, ‘Asia After Vietnam.’ “We have to proceed with both an urgency born of necessity and a patience born of realism, moving step by calculated step toward the final goal.”

SIIS Vice President Chen Dongxiao, and other experts at the Shanghai based think tank also seemed to echo the 37th President’s outlook, saying that China’s growth and transformation will close the country’s wealth gap, and provide foreigners – especially Americans – with new economic opportunities.

The consensus among the room of Chinese and Americans was that continued progress depended greatly on mutual understanding fostered by education, cross cultural initiatives, and people-to-people diplomacy.

Craig Young, among the delegates, and the mayor of President Nixon’s hometown of Yorba Linda, CA, likened the ideal U.S.-China relationship to a game of doubles tennis.

“It’s not about whether we win or you lose,” Young said. “It’s about winning together.”

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The national network covered President Nixon’s grandson, Christopher Nixon Cox, and the Nixon Foundation delegation he led which retraced the 37th President’s steps from “the week that changed the world.”

With cameras capturing some of the trip’s most memorable moments in Tian’anmen square, the Forbidden City, and a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People, Williams interviews Mr. Cox; Col. Jack Brennan, Marine Corps Aide to President Nixon; and Robert McFarlane, former National Security Adviser to President Reagan, who earlier worked in the Nixon White House as a Military Assistant to Dr. Henry Kissinger.

See the video below:

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In 1972, and again in 1993, President Nixon planted similar saplings that grew tall and are still visible in the lush lakeside city today.

“[My grandfather] said that just as those small saplings could one day grow into mighty trees, he hoped that the seeds of peace planted on his journey would grow into a more enduring structure for peace and security in the Western Pacific,” Mr. Cox said during the ceremony. “In 1972, my grandfather and the Chinese leaders seized their moment. Today, following their example, we must seize ours.”

As the events unfolded in February 1972, Hangzhou was indeed where the moment was seized. It was in this city, where the American and Chinese leadership hammered out and put the final touches on what was proclaimed on the last day of the trip as the Shanghai Communiqué.

During an official banquet at the Hangzhou State Guest House Monday evening Lu Husen, who worked in the Chinese foreign affairs office during the original trip, remembered the talks taking place in the very building the dinner was currently being held.

“This hotel played a role in U.S.-China relations,” Mr. Lu said. “Both sides spent 21 hours negotiating… Richard Nixon also held a press conference here announcing the coming good news.”

Colonel Jack Brennan, Marine Corps Aide to President Nixon toasted the delegation’s hosts including Zhejiang Province’s Deputy Mayor Liang Liming, and spoke about how the President and First Lady thought of Hangzhou as the most delightful interlude of the trip.

“Premier Zhou En-Lai told President Nixon that though he was obliged to visit the capital – Beijing – and the largest city –Shanghai – the city he must see his Hangzhou,” Col. Brennan said.

“When he was here, President Nixon expressed it perfectly. He said that if Beijing is the ‘head of China,’ Hangzhou is China’s heart.”

View photos from Hangzhou:

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State Councilor Yang held a private discussion with the delegation which was preceded by a panel comprised of Mr. Cox; Mr. McFarlane; Col. Jack Brennan (Marine Corps Aide to President Nixon and member of the 1972 trip); KT McFarland, National Security Analyst (member of Kissinger’s NSC staff); Ms. Tang “Nancy” Wensheng (Interpreter for Chairman Mao and Premier Chou en-Lai); Mr. Ding Yuanhong (Director of U.S. Affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry during RN’s visits) and Mr. Zhou Wenzhong (Former Ambassador to the United States).

Participants in the private meeting with State Councilor Yang noted that his remarks underscored the strategic context of the Nixon-Mao opening, and seemed to convey nostalgia for, and interest in a return for such a diplomatic framework. The tone was welcomed by the Nixon delegation.

The event was organized by the Richard Nixon Foundation and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Asked to comment on the seeming importance attached to the visit by PRC leadership, Mr. Cox noted that both countries should share responsibility for maintaining regional and global stability.

Others in the Nixon delegation expressed the view that China has taken the so-called “pivot to Asia” (by the Obama administration) as motivated by a concern over China’s ambitions in the years ahead.

Robert McFarlane, National Security Adviser to President Reagan, included the following in his remarks prepared for the event.

“China has taken its rightful place as a great power with all the prerogatives and responsibilities that status entails. The challenges before us involve assuring:

That available energy resources are accessible by all countries at an affordable cost.

That terrorism is preempted and not allowed to flourish.

That mutually accepted rules for advancement of cyber technologies are adopted and that we foreclose their use to simulate tension or worse.

That regional or other disagreements are not allowed to escalate beyond our abilities to control.”

In closing he noted:

“In each of these areas, if we work together, accepting our roles as strategic partners and stewards of global stability, we can extend the remarkable record so well advanced by the leaders we honor today. As we honor the enlightened leadership of President Nixon, Premier Zhou En-Lai, and Deng Zhao-Ping, let us rededicate ourselves to being worthy heirs of their legacy, and of advancing it across an ever-widening agenda for maintaining peace and stability in the generations to come.”

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Earlier in the day, the delegation toured Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City, the ancient home of China’s great emperors.

Councilor Yang said that President Nixon’s vision, and the Chinese leadership, created a new era that deeply changed China, the United States, and effectively the whole world.

“We can’t but admire this generation of statesmen,” the State Councilor said. “We must build on this success and manage a better future.”

The common theme throughout the program reflected the spirit of the Shanghai Communiqué; the United States and China should work on areas where they have common ground, as well as recognize and resolve differences where they occur. Ultimately, open dialogue, will strengthen the roots from the seed first planted 40 years ago.

The speeches followed a panel discussion featuring current Chinese diplomats and officials from the 1972 trip, as well as Mr. Cox, former National Security Adviser Bud McFarlane, National Security Analyst KT McFarland, and Colonel Jack Brennan, Marine Corps Aide to President Nixon. Tian Wei of CCTV served as moderator.

“Throughout history there have been great explorers.  Marco Polo, Zheng He, Lewis and Clark, and the Apollo astronauts who walked on the moon,” said Christopher Nixon Cox in a reciprocal toast. “Perhaps President Nixon’s trip here forty years ago didn’t involve great physical risks and perils, but it required the same kind of vision and determination and courage.  The Chinese Government shared those qualities, and between them, they truly made history.”

Check back for updates!

In the News:

Richard Nixon’s grandson tours China to recall historic 1972 visit, Los Angeles Times
“I remember my grandfather telling me that to have one billion of the world’s most hard-working and talented people in isolation is something that is dangerous for the world,” Cox recalled in an interview over lunch Saturday near the Badaling section of the Great Wall. “He felt that a prosperous China was critical for peace and stability.”

In China, Nixon Grandson Commemorates 1972 Visit, New York Times
The trip by Christopher Nixon Cox, 100 years after President Richard M. Nixon’s birth, was organized to lionize both the president’s and the Communist Party’s accomplishments.

Rekindling memories of Nixon’s 1972 visit, China Daily
Forty-one years after former US president Richard Nixon’s landmark visit to China, the two sides are seeking to improve bilateral ties, which are facing “another turning point”, as a 40-member delegation from the United States retrace the trip’s legacy.

Chinese state councilor stresses Sino-U.S. partnership, Xinhua
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Friday said China and the United States need to work together to strengthen their cooperative partnership and build a new type of relationship. Yang made the remarks during a meeting with a delegation of the Richard Nixon Foundation, headed by Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of former U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Nixon’s grandson retraces historic week, China Daily (US)
A delegation of 40 US dignitaries led by a grandson of Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to retrace the 37th president’s 1972 visit to China. That diplomatic coup ended 25 years of mutual silence and cleared the way for the establishment of formal ties between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Nixon’s grandson and a councilman to retrace president’s China visit, OC Register
Christopher Nixon Cox was scheduled to get off of a plane in Beijing on Wednesday, stepping into the shoes of his grandfather – the 37th president of the United States.Nixon Cox is leading a delegation organized by the Richard Nixon Foundation to retrace the steps of the president’s historic trip to China in 1972, which changed the course of the Cold War.

Media:

Nixon Grandson Leads VIP Delegation to Retrace President Nixon’s Historic Trip to China
Yorba Linda, Ca., April 1, 2013 – Former White House officials, supporters, and Richard Nixon’s grandson, Christopher Nixon Cox, will embark on a 10-day trip to the People’s Republic of China, where 40 years ago, President Nixon made unprecedented diplomatic breakthroughs and opened relations between the U.S and China.

China Legacy Journey Tour Itinerary
Yorba Linda, Ca., April 1, 2013 – Day-to-day itinerary for the Richard Nixon Centennial Legacy Journey to China. May 1-10, 2013.

CLICK HERE FOR MULTIMEDIA FROM PRESIDENT NIXON’S 1972 TRIP

Historical information:

The Week That Changed the World (VIDEO)
How President Nixon achieved peace with the People’s Republic of China.

Creating the Shanghai Communiqué
The Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, more commonly referred to as the Shanghai Communiqué, is one of the most important diplomatic achievements of the 20^th century, but its creation did not come quickly or smoothly.

Cold War Game Change
Since the rise of the Iron Curtain after WWII, the US-Soviet relationship was based on a balance of power.

A Consequential Toast
In his toast at the Welcome Banquet on February 21^st, 1972 in the Great Hall of the People, President Nixon laid out the potential that trip held for the future of the US-Chinese relationship.

An Important Handshake
Walking down the steps from the “Spirit of ‘76” after landing on the small tarmac of the Peking Airport, President Nixon made it a point to extend his hand toward Premier Chou En-lai. “When our hands met,” President Nixon wrote, “one era ended and another began.”

The South Lawn Departure
News crews filmed the small crowd, including Republican and Democratic Congressmen, the Vice President and Mrs. Agnew, and the President’s two daughters, Tricia and Julie, which had all gathered around a single microphone that stood on the South Lawn between the White House and Marine One.

Dinner with Andre Malraux
After accepting the invitation to visit China, President Nixon began to prepare himself for exchanges with the Chinese leadership. One of the most important, and most difficult, aspects of the preparation was learning about Chairman Mao.

The Announcement
To a very keen observer, President Nixon’s acceptance of Premier Chou En-Lai’s invitation to China would not have had as great a shock as it did to the rest of the nation. President Nixon, in fact, began to soften the ground for a new relationship with China as soon as he entered the Oval Office.

The Modern Marco Polo
President Nixon shocked the world when he accepted an invitation to China from Premier Chou En-Lai on national television. This event marked the beginning of the public’s awareness of administration efforts to normalize relations with China.

Ping-Pong: A Diplomatic Test Balloon
“You have opened a new chapter in the relations between the American and Chinese people,” said Premier Chou En-Lai. “I am confident,” he continued, “that this beginning again of our friendship will certainly meet with majority support of our two peoples.”

China: Taking the long View
In October 1967, Foreign Affairs published an article by Richard Nixon—six years after leaving the White House as Vice President—which demonstrated that his finger never left the pulse of international relations.

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The new web exhibit is a journey through Richard Nixon’s life that shows him as a man who rose from humble beginnings to become the 37th President.

The Richard Nixon Centennial exhibit, Patriot. President. Peacemaker opened February 15 in Yorba Linda and worldwide through a new online experience at Nixon100.org.

In the interactive online exhibit, guests will be immersed in the life of America’s 37th President; experiencing the challenges and victories of Richard Nixon not only during his time as President, but his life in its entirety, from his humble beginnings in Yorba Linda, to his post-presidential life as an elder statesman.

Online visitors will be guided through the five key chapters of President Nixon’s life that define his legacy, How American, In the Arena, Creating a Just Society, Peacemaker of His Time, and Global Elder Statesman.

The site is the first Presidential Library exhibit designed to be enjoyed on a tablet device.

With the swipe of a finger, visitors can scroll through a timeline of President Nixon’s life and experience photos and videos featured in the Centennial exhibit.

The approach is to give online visitors an up-close and personal experience with the centennial pieces.

As users navigate the virtual experience they can pinpoint where they would be in the physical exhibit, closing the gap between the virtual and personal experience.

Experience the website at: http://www.nixon100.org/.

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See the exhibit online at NIXON100.ORG.

The exhibit features five main themes of President Nixon’s life, each essential in developing his core philosophy and legacy.

RN: How American
Covering his early life, upbringing, and time at school, follow Richard Nixon from his 1913 birth in a small farmhouse in Yorba Linda, California, moving to Whittier and losing two brothers to illness. Learn how his family’s Quaker roots came to impact his own life, and see the football bench on which he sat with his teammates throughout his college football career. See the uniform he wore during his tour of duty in the South Pacific, and read intimate private letters written daily between him and his new bride, Pat, as the two were separated during World War II. See the desk he and his father built from a door and plywood for the young lawyer to use in his first law office.

RN: In the Arena
“The credit belongs to the man who was in the arena” was one of Nixon’s favorite phrases and aptly describes this period of his career. Follow his meteoric rise to the top of the Presidential ticket, starting with his first run for Congress in 1946. His work exposing Alger Hiss as a Soviet spy put him on the national stage – a launching point from which he was elected California Senator in 1950 and Vice President in 1952. Learn about the precedent-setting Checkers Speech, the first television broadcast to appeal directly to American voters, and the beginning of a political medium that continues to this day.

Enter a re-creation of the 1950s-era modern American kitchen exhibited in Moscow where Vice President Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had their fiery exchange debating the merits of freedom versus communism. And consider the impact even today of the 1960 debates in which viewers thought Kennedy had won – but those listening on radio felt Nixon had bested his challenger.

The 1960s: Tunnel of Turmoil
The 1960s were the most turbulent time in America since the Civil War. The assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., demonstrations against the war in Vietnam, and riots in American cities all contributed to a growing sense of disorder. The Civil Rights movement, the rise of feminism, and the Generation Gap all contributed to a sense of enormous change.  By the late 1960s, America was teetering on the brink. College campuses throughout the country were centers of student demonstrations and the Vietnam War had effectively forced President Johnson to give up the most powerful position on Earth. The explosive anger culminated at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Experience everything about this decade of discontent in our uniquely designed sound and light 1960s display. This is the America that Richard Nixon inherited on January 20, 1969.

RN: Creating a More Just Society
“Nixon came to the Presidency at the third most difficult time in our history to do so,” noted historian and scholar Michael Barone – the other two being the Civil War and the Great Depression. Join Nixon himself through never-before-seen candid and casual interviews as he takes visitors through the decisions behind his domestic policies, equally conservative in terms of his New Federalism programs to “return power to the people” and progressive in terms of implementing groundbreaking environmental legislation, peacefully desegregating Southern schools, and returning to American Indians – which Nixon called the “most deprived and most isolated minority group in our nation” – much of their former native lands through federal legislation. Learn about Nixon’s comprehensive healthcare plan, how he tackled welfare reform, and sought to restructure the federal bureaucracy, all through vivid images and revealing audio-visual displays.

RN: Peacemaker
Richard Nixon is perhaps best known for his foreign policy prowess, and this exhibit powerfully showcases his achievements in this field. From ending the Vietnam War to opening relations with China and hard-headed détente with the Soviet Union, Nixon’s foreign policy gave the United States the upper hand in the Cold War. The exhibit also recounts some of his less familiar foreign policy successes, including averting a great power clash in the Middle East; while providing vital aid to Israel in its darkest hour during the Yom Kippur War, and utilizing firm but effective diplomacy with the Arab world.

RN: Elder Statesman
On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency rather than continue a festering political battle over Watergate. Follow Richard Nixon into retirement as he waved his final goodbye from the White House and was greeted by thousands as he arrived home in Orange County, California. Few would have predicted that Nixon would have a role to play in the future life of the nation, but that would be perhaps the last time anyone underestimated Richard Nixon’s tenacity, resilience, and commitment to making a difference. In May 1986, even Newsweek proclaimed on its cover, “HE’S BACK!” See draft manuscripts of his Memoirs – with more than 300,000 copies sold it would remain the best-selling Presidential memoir for 25 years – and preparation materials for his famed series of interviews with British television personality David Frost. Travel with Richard Nixon on his 13 international trips and visits to more than 20 nations from 1976 to 1994. He was consulted by every one of his White House successors, and was asked for his advice and counsel on a variety of topics. On display will be personal correspondence between Nixon and Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, as well as never-before-displayed family photographs of the Nixons in their later years.

View photos of the exhibit here:

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“We cannot think of a better way to celebrate the Centennial of President Nixon,” said Ambassador Qiu. “Richard Nixon’s visit changed the course of history,” he added.

“Richard Nixon wanted to bring China into the brotherhood of nations,” said Foundation President Sandy Quinn on RN’s original trip. “When you look at was has occurred, the advances in every way, it’s amazing.”

The delegation leaves for the People’s Republic of China on May 1 and will travel to Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai to revisit historic scenes from “The Week that Changed the World.”

View photos from the reception here:

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