Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-026

Nixon phone call with Woods on Prescott S. Bush and funeral arrangements

Sunday, October 8, 1972 · 10:31 PM–10:32 PM ET · White House Telephone · 55 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation031-026 on Tape 31StartSunday, October 8, 1972 at 10:31 PMEndSunday, October 8, 1972 at 10:32 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-026 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, coordinate the White House's formal expressions of sympathy following the death of former Senator Prescott S. Bush. The President decides to provide a military escort for the funeral services, consistent with protocols for former senators, in addition to sending flowers and a personal note to the widow, Dorothy Bush. Nixon directs Woods to contact the military office to facilitate these arrangements and to communicate the gesture to the Bush family through George H.W. Bush.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.3 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Hello.
Rose, there isn't anything particular I can do about the Bush thing.
You know, I've talked to George and they've all expected me.
But I did think that we might, in addition to the flowers, and since he's a former senator, have the military fellow there.
We've done that for former senators, haven't we?
Yeah.
Let's do that.
Would you get ahold of the military's office and send Mrs. Bush to see us, too?
It is still living, of course.
Yes, it is.
And you could say that we'd like for him to have been on the military thing.
Sure.
Fine.
Okay.
And we'll try to get off a little note tomorrow.
Sure.
I think we can do that and, you know, and flowers.
And that's it.
That's all.
That's right.
Bye.
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you.
Bye.

NARA Description

On October 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 10:31 pm to 10:32 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-26

Date: October 8, 1972
Time: 10:31 pm - 10:32 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Rose Mary Woods.

        Prescott S. Bush
            -Funeral arrangements
                 -George H.W. Bush
                 -Military escort
                 -Dorothy (Walker) Bush
                     -Note
                     -Flowers

Also recorded on October 9, 1972

  • 031-023 9:57 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:57 pm and 10:18 pm.
  • 031-024 10:18 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George E. Allen talked on the telephone from 10:18 pm to 10:30 pm.
  • 031-025 10:30 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:30 pm and 10:31 pm.
  • 794-001 9:23 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:23 am to 10:09 am.
  • 794-002 10:10 AM · 1 hr 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Arthur F. Burns, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Herbert Stein, White House photographer, and Donald H. Rumsfeld met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:10 am to 11:35 am.
  • 794-003 11:36 AM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Russell E. Train, John C. Whitaker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:36 am to 11:56 am.
  • 794-004 11:56 AM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:56 am and 11:58 am.
  • 794-005 11:58 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Winston W. Marsh, James Low, Henry C. Cashen, II, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:58 am to 12:10 pm.

All 31 conversations from October 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-026, October 9, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-026 (accessed October 1, 2026).