He graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law. He and his wife Pat moved to Washington in 1942 to work for the federal government. He served on active duty in the Navy Reserve during World War II. In later years, Nixon proudly said he was the only modern president to have previously worked as a practicing attorney. (ed.). Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda. Yale Genocide Studies Program Monograph Series. p. 54ff. Archived from the original on March 9, 2013.