Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-135

Nixon phone call with Andrews on Presidential speeches

Saturday, July 3, 1971 · 6:16 PM–6:17 PM ET · White House Telephone · 41 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Andrews, John K., Jr.Conversation006-135 on Tape 6 (tape position 02:46:49–02:47:30)StartSaturday, July 3, 1971 at 6:16 PMEndSaturday, July 3, 1971 at 6:17 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-135 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with John K. Andrews, Jr. to clarify the correct pronunciation of the word "valedictory" for an upcoming presidential address. The brief exchange confirmed the stress placement on the third syllable and verified that preparations for the speech were finalized. Andrews informed the President that his requested revisions had been incorporated and the text was ready for delivery.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. Andrews there.
Yeah.
Yes, sir, Mr. President.
Hello.
Say, what is, what do you, how do you pronounce the, that valedictory?
Do you put the, on the dick or the tory?
Is it valedictory?
It's, you see what I mean?
Well.
It's a rather awkward, awkward word.
Valedictorian.
Well, valedictorian is the way you pronounce that, but when you call it valedictory address.
I think the accented syllable is D-I-C, valedictory.
Valedictory.
That would be my thought.
Okay.
Thank you.
You got it all ironed out, ready to go?
Oh, yeah.
It's fine.
Yeah.
I made a couple, a few more changes, but we're all set.
Well, we'll look forward to it.
It's all set.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On July 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John K. Andrews, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:16 pm to 6:17 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-135 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-135

Date: July 3, 1971
Time: 6:16 pm - 6:17 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John K. Andrews, Jr.

     Pronunciation of "valedictory"

     President's forthcoming address

Also recorded on July 3, 1971

  • 006-130 4:22 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:22 pm and 4:37 pm.
  • 006-131 4:37 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 4:37 pm to 4:38 pm.
  • 006-132 4:38 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:38 pm and 6:04 pm.
  • 006-133 6:04 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:04 pm to 6:05 pm.
  • 006-134 6:05 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:05 pm and 6:16 pm.
  • 006-136 6:17 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:55 pm.
  • 006-137 6:17 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:55 pm.
  • 006-138 6:55 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:55 pm to 6:56 pm.

All 45 conversations from July 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-135, July 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-135 (accessed October 12, 2026).