HOPE	Voyages	On Land
	People	Dr. Walsh	"Hopies"	Milestones

The "People to People" Program

"I have been impressed with the merit of the proposal . . . which you have referred to as Project HOPE." --Dwight D. Eisenhower, shown here with Dr. Walsh, 1958

Project HOPE originated during the "peaceful coexistence" phase of the Cold War. President Dwight Eisenhower convened a "People to People" conference at the White House in 1955, believing that international citizen exchanges, particularly in the arts, medicine, business, and agriculture, would promote democracy over communism. Shortly after the conference, the President suffered a heart attack, and during recovery, he met Washington, D.C., cardiologist, Dr. William B. Walsh. As they became better acquainted, President Eisenhower asked Dr. Walsh to submit a medical project for the People to People Program. In 1958, just months after the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first manmade satellite, Dr. Walsh presented his idea for a different kind of circumnavigating satellite--the S.S. HOPE. His vessel would show the world something at which Americans excelled, medicine.

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