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Both
Ruth and Billy Graham met thousands of people over the years
during their travels or at home. Most were ordinary people
who came to one of Billy's crusades; some were special friends
who made a lasting impression of them, and for whom the
Grahams made an impact as well. Some of their special friends
were famous to most Americans. Below is a list of them.
George
Beverly Shea
 "Bev,"
as Billy affectionately called him, sang on a program called
"Club Time" on ABC and many other independent
stations for many years. In 1943, Billy approached Shea
about joining him on a radio program called "Songs
in the Night," a program on WCFL in Chicago that announcer
Torrey Johnson asked Billy to consider taking over. Because
of Shea's popularity, Billy felt the program would be more
successful with his addition.
President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
 President
Eisenhower was the 34th President, from 1953-1961.
During his two terms in office, he was most noted for attempting
to quell the Cold War and was instrumental in establishing
electoral governments in both South Korea and South Vietnam.
He was the first "modern Republican." As general,
he was Supreme Commander in 1944 when troops invaded Normandy
on D-Day. Billy Graham met Eisenhower before the Presidential
election, and after Eisenhower was nominated by the Republican
Convention, he asked Billy to write some comments of a religious
nature for his campaign speeches. Although Billy refused
to disclose his political preference, he jotted down some
Bible verses for the general.
President
John F. Kennedy
 President
Kennedy was the 35th President, from 1961-1963,
and the first Catholic President of the US. He was killed
by an assassin's bullet a year before he finished his first
term. He negotiated the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and
sent advisors to Vietnam as tensions increased. Billy's
introduction to the Presidential nominee came in a phone
call asking the evangelist to make a statement on tolerance
for Roman Catholics; however, Billy could not make such
a statement, saying that it would be interpreted as an endorsement.
However, Billy did reassure him that he was not concerned
about having a Catholic President, although many Southern
Baptists were.
President
Richard P. Nixon
 President
Nixon was the 37th President, from 1969-1974.
Nixon entered office during a time of tension and division
in the nation and ordered the withdrawal of troops from
Vietnam. In addition, he made great strides in improving
relations between the US and the USSR. Although he was elected
for a second term, the Watergate scandal forced him to resign.
Billy and Ruth befriended the Nixons in 1950 when Richard
Nixon was senator of California. After Nixon's Vice Presidency
under President Eisenhower, Billy reluctantly agreed to
pray publicly for Nixon as he ran for President against
Kennedy, an act which many people viewed as an endorsement.
Throughout Nixon's political career, Billy maintained his
friendship with him, carefully avoiding any public connection
with his political views.
President
Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson
 Lyndon
Johnson became President on November 22, 1963, after President
Kennedy was killed. He continued the fight against poverty
and for many of the issues that Kennedy had made central
to his agenda. He won the Presidency in 1964 by a landslide,
but withdrew from running for a second term in order to
seek peace in the Vietnam situation. The Grahams and Johnsons
were good friends; in fact, Billy, Ruth and the other Crusade
leaders often visited the Johnsons on their Texas ranch.
Billy did not always subscribe to the President's views,
and in fact disagreed with him publicly at one of his Crusades.
President
Jimmy Carter
 The
thirty-ninth President, James Earl Carter, Jr. wanted a
government that was more compassionate. He fought both at
home and abroad for human rights, often making enemies of
countries like the Soviet Union and many South American
nations. While he diligently sought ways to decrease rising
inflation, poverty and energy consumption, rising energy
costs and inflation, multiplied by the hostage crisis in
Iran, cost him reelection. Billy Graham and Carter had been
acquaintances for years, and during his 1975 Crusade in
Jackson, Mississippi, Billy discovered that Carter was running
for President. During Carter's Presidency, Billy assisted
in returning the crown of St. Stephen to Hungary, after
it had been stored at Fort Knox since World War II.
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