John F. Kennedy, Jr. sits in the pilot’s seat of the Presidential helicopter during a weekend trip to Camp David in Frederick County, Maryland.
Photo Credit: Robert Knudsen/JFK Library. View more here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHP-1963-03-31-A.aspx
President and Nancy Reagan arriving in Washington DC via Marine One from Camp David . 9/12/82.
Jimmy Carter sledding at Camp David. February 4, 1978.
It’s cold out there today. Stay warm and happy Monday!
-from the Carter Library
The Camp David Accords
Thirty-four years ago in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland, three world leaders came together seeking a way out of the years unrest in the Middle East.
At the invitation of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt came to the secluded presidential retreat, Camp David. Each leader took enormous risks to be there.
On September 17, 1978 the Camp David Accords were signed and the groundwork laid out for the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. Read more
Photo: Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menahem Begin at the Camp David Accords Signing Ceremony. East Room, White House. 9/17/1978.
from the Carter Library
Source: research.archives.gov
President Obama hosts the G-8 Summit at Camp David today and tomorrow. Although many Heads of State have visited the presidential retreat since it was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942, this weekend will be the first time such a large group of foreign leaders have come together at Camp David.
FDR originally called the retreat in Maryland “Shangri-La.” This didn’t suit Dwight D. Eisenhower who stated the name was “just a little fancy for a Kansas farm boy.” As President, he renamed the compound “Camp David” in honor of his grandson David Eisenhower.
Here’s a photo of David Eisenhower at the entrance to Camp David. 10/2/60
Source: eisenhower.archives.gov
Happy Friday!
Jimmy Carter sledding at Camp David. 2/4/78.
Source: research.archives.gov
Treaty of Peace Chess Break
Prime Minister Begin engages National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski on the chess board. This game took place in between meetings with United States President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for the Camp David Accords. September 5-17, 1978 at Camp David in Maryland.
-from the Carter Library
Source: jimmycarterlibrary.gov
October 6, 1981 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated
Over his 11 years as Egypt’s third president, Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat charted a new course for the country. He expelled Soviet advisors from Egypt and began to reform the economy. On October 6, 1973, he launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai in order to reclaim this Egyptian peninsula captured during the 1967 Six Day War.
In spite of new western investment and U.S. aid, the economy continued to decline, resulting in work strikes and riots over food shortages. Sadat, convinced that war was too costly for his people, took an unprecedented step onto the world stage. He traveled to Jerusalem at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and addressed the Israeli Knesset (parliament) on November 20, 1977, calling for peace in the Middle East.
The following year, the Camp David meetings began between Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat, and President Jimmy Carter. Three scheduled days turned into thirteen intensely frustrating ones. However, on September 17, 1978 the Camp David Accords were signed and the groundwork laid out for the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. Both Sadat and Begin were awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their negotiations.
Three years later, in 1981, President Sadat was killed by fundamentalists dissatisfied with the concessions that had been made in the peace process.
On September 15, 1959 a landmark in the Cold War occurred when Nikita Khrushchev arrived in Washington D.C. to meet with President Eisenhower. Khrushchev was the first Soviet Premier to visit the United States. His 12 day trip began with a State Dinner at the White House, a tour through the U.S., and concluded with meetings at Camp David with Eisenhower.
Here are Ike and Nikita at Camp David. September 25, 1959.
More at the Eisenhower Library
