Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-097

Nixon phone call with Kendall on Condolences and Billy Graham

Friday, October 15, 1971 · 9:09 AM–9:10 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kendall, Donald McI.Conversation011-097 on Tape 11 (tape position 02:36:01–02:37:53)StartFriday, October 15, 1971 at 9:09 AMEndFriday, October 15, 1971 at 9:10 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-097 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417190089 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls Donald McI. Kendall to offer condolences regarding the recent death of Kendall's father. Following this brief personal exchange, the two discuss logistics for an upcoming event featuring Billy Graham. They conclude by confirming travel arrangements for Treasury Secretary John B. Connally to join them at the Business Council.

Audio

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NARA Description

On October 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Donald McI. Kendall talked on the telephone from 9:09 am to 9:10 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-097 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-097

 Date: October 15, 1971
 Time: 9:09 am - 9:10 am
 Location: White House Telephone

 The President talked with Donald McI. Kendall.

 [See Conversation No. 593-5]

        Condolences
            -Kendall's father

        William F. (“Billy”) Graham
              -The President's schedule
                   -John B. Connally

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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. Kendall.
Yeah.
Hello, Mr. President.
Hi, Don.
Well, I was certainly sorry to hear about your father.
It was such a shock, you know.
But, you know, at that age, just to have something happen fast is probably the best thing.
Well, I guess it... Was he driving the car himself?
Yes, he was.
Yeah.
And, of course, he was in great shape physically and mentally.
Well, I remember when he was here, yeah.
He had just taken...
He had his 83rd birthday in September and just taken up golf.
Oh, boy.
Yeah.
Yeah, he was strong as an ox.
Well, he was playing nine holes three times a week and was very proud of it, which challenged me to golf games.
Yeah, yeah.
Those things can reverse.
Sure.
And I think that...
I think it's about the only way I can look at it is he at least went out with his boots on and in good shape.
Look, at 83 years of age, he's had a good life, Don, and he's proud of what you've done and everything.
Well, you made the highlight of his life when he came down to Washington.
That's the thing that he talks about more than anything.
I'm so glad you got him here, you know.
That trip was really, as a matter of fact, when we were going back from the White House that day in the plane,
He said, Sonny, they can take me now and it's all right.
Well, that's great.
That's great.
Well, anyway, it's just one of those actions.
We read about thousands of them every day, but it doesn't quite get on to yourself.
No, it doesn't.
Well, anyway, I wish you well.
Thank you.
I'm looking forward to seeing you this afternoon.
I'm going to be over at Billy Graham.
There will be a few thousand.
I hope to see you.
Then Conley is coming back with us to the business council.
Good.
I know he told me he was.
He's coming down with me.
I'm bringing him in the plane.
That's what he said, and then we're taking him from there.
Okay, Don.
All right.
Thank you so much for coming.

Also recorded on October 15, 1971

  • 011-096 8:43 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 9:09 am.
  • 593-001 8:43 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 9:09 am.
  • 593-002 8:43 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 9:09 am.
  • 593-003 8:43 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 9:09 am.
  • 593-004 8:43 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 9:09 am.
  • 593-005 9:09 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald McI. Kendall met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:09 am to 9:10 am.
  • 593-006 9:10 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and Peter G. Peterson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 9:36 am.
  • 593-007 9:37 AM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:37 am to 9:52 am.

All 21 conversations from October 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-097, October 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417190089). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/011-097 (accessed November 13, 2026).