Brother Ed still gets honored around world

Even now, Ed Nixon, a geologist, gets recognized there because of his name and his resemblance to his brother.

"It's embarrassing. I'm not going to meet anybody in government or a mayor. I just want to meet with a geologist poking around in a tin mine in Hunan ... but they put out the red carpet," Ed Nixon said.

"I've been to 40 countries around the world, and Nixon's name works wonders."

Daughter Tricia Nixon Cox said "the twin pillars of my father's legacy are peace and the victory of free-market capitalism. I think my father's guiding principles were peace and justice ... because without justice, peace is only ephemeral. Everything he did in the international area was to bring about a lasting peace."

Still, the stain of the cover-up of the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters remains.

"It's a legacy that will live with honor," Ed Nixon said. "Richard Nixon did not resign in shame. He died knowing he accomplished what he tried to do. He was cut short, but he did a lot of things that people didn't think he could do. China was just one of them."

— The Orange County Register