Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-091

Nixon phone call with Charles Chassler on Vietnam War and Humanitarian aid

Wednesday, May 5, 1971 · 5:35 PM–5:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Charles ChasslerConversation002-091 on Tape 2 (tape position 03:17:49–03:19:14)StartWednesday, May 5, 1971 at 5:35 PMEndWednesday, May 5, 1971 at 5:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-091 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated this call to personally thank Dr. Charles Chasler for a letter describing his volunteer medical service in Vietnam. Nixon commended Chasler's humanitarian work with Vietnamese children and expressed appreciation for the patriotic example set by Chasler's three sons serving in the ROTC. The President briefly reaffirmed his administration's commitment to resolving the Vietnam conflict in a manner that would honor the sacrifices made by individuals like Chasler.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Mr. President, I have Dr. Chasler for you now.
Yes.
There you are, sir.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello, Dr. Chasler.
This is Dr. Chasler.
Yes.
I was calling you just to thank you for a letter you wrote to me while you were in Vietnam and to tell you that I think the example that you have set in your volunteer work in Vietnam on four occasions and the fact that you have
have the vietnamese children you have taken care of and you in fact adopted one and then to see too that beyond that your three of your children or your boys are in rotc i think this is a really a splendid example for this country and and we're most grateful for it well sir thank you very much i certainly didn't expect your call but i did write to you because i
actually felt that situation over there sure you were there all right and i should tell you about it well i appreciate it very much and i hope that uh that everything goes well with your family now that you're back and uh in the end of course why we will uh we think that we can handle this situation in a way that all of your work will have been uh really worthwhile i certainly hope so sir thank you so much for calling thank you bye

NARA Description

On May 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles Chassler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:35 pm and 5:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-091 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-91

Date: May 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:35 pm and 5:45 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Dr. Charles Chasler.

[See Conversation No. 492-7A]

     Chasler's letter to President from Vietnam
          -President's appreciation
          -Chasler's sons in the Reserve Officers Training Corps [ROTC]
          -Vietnam

Also recorded on May 5, 1971

  • 002-090 5:37 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:38 pm.
  • 492-005 5:37 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:38 pm.
  • 492-006 5:37 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:38 pm.
  • 492-007 5:38 PM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles Chassler, John D. Ehrlichman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:38 pm to 6:13 pm.
  • 002-092 5:45 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:45 pm and 6:03 pm.
  • 002-093 5:45 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Jerry V. Wilson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:45 pm and 6:03 pm.
  • 002-094 6:13 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:13 pm and 7:45 pm.
  • 002-095 6:13 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:13 pm and 7:45 pm.

All 77 conversations from May 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-091, May 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-091 (accessed September 24, 2026).