Nixon was elected to Congress in California following service in the U.S Navy during World War II. He served as vice president for two terms under President Dwight Eisenhower from 1952 to 1960, but was defeated by John F. Kennedy for the next presidency. He won presidential elections in 1968 and 1972, but was forced to resign in August, 1974, because of the Watergate scandal. Nixon's administration signed the Paris cease fire agreement thereby ending America's involvement in the Vietnam War.