My Dad, Barry Nemcoff, Shaking Hands with Nixon

It should be noted that my dad, Barry Nemcoff, couldn't stand Nixon. Hated the man's politics… but when you are asked to shake the hand of the leader of the free world, you do so with respect and honor. Funny thing was that I think my father was ashamed of this photo and I never even saw it until I came across it in a box of his old pictures after he died. I suppose most people would have framed it and put it up on a wall. He hid it away and never told anybody. Before spending decades in television news, my dad was in the foreign service and although I heard a number of stories about what he did while serving overseas, I still think there are some secrets he never told anybody.

I actually remember being in Washington D.C. with my father on August 8th, 1974. I recall we were staying in a hotel that had a view of either the White House or the Capitol Building, I can't remember exactly though it seems unlikely that it was the White House… I remember we watched Nixon resign from office on the TV set. I couldn't tell you why we were there other than my dad was there covering the story.

UPDATE: The Internet is a wonderful thing. A quick check of the Nixon archives leads me to believe this photo was taken in the White House on June 18th, 1971.