Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 39 › Conversation 039-009

Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on POWs and White House reception

Thursday, May 24, 1973 · 5:05 PM–5:08 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation039-009 on Tape 39StartThursday, May 24, 1973 at 5:05 PMEndThursday, May 24, 1973 at 5:08 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 039-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, discussed the enthusiastic reception at a White House event honoring former prisoners of war. Julie reported on the emotional response from the attendees while the President recounted key moments from his speech, including his defense of secret negotiations and his criticism of individuals who leak classified documents. Nixon noted that his remarks regarding the unauthorized release of secret files prompted a standing ovation from the crowd of former POWs.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I have Julie now, sir.
Hello.
All right.
Thank you.
Daddy, I hear it was beautiful.
Yeah, how was your party?
Four standing ovations.
How was your party?
Oh, it was so thrilling.
Everyone coming through said, tell your father he brought them home.
We love him.
We believe in him.
Oh, it was beautiful.
The real thrill.
Did they all come through the line?
No.
Mother met every single one.
And Tricia and I stood in another room and met them as they came through.
Great.
And it was really quite an experience.
I loved it.
Did they seem to enjoy it?
Oh, my God.
They were so thrilled.
And many mothers said many of them cried.
through her lines.
Isn't that nice?
It was beautiful.
But three reporters told me about your remarks.
Betty Beal and Fay Wells and another one.
I don't know her name.
We got two or three friends.
That's not all.
But, oh, no, they really tore the place down.
Oh, God, I hear it was fantastic.
Four standing ovations.
Right.
I'll tell you one thing that really got them.
In the middle of the speech, I made a crack.
I told them that we got them home and what we had to do in the future.
And I said we had to be strong.
And I said that was one of the things that had gotten them home.
and then got the initiative to China and the initiative to Russia being strong.
Right.
And I said, the second thing was that we had to have secret negotiations.
I said, without secret negotiations, we wouldn't have had the China initiative, we wouldn't have had the Russian agreement, and we wouldn't have gotten you home.
Oh, great.
And then I went on to say, and I just paused a minute, and I said, it's time to quit making national heroes, individuals,
who steal secret documents and put them in the newspapers.
They stood up and shared for about three minutes.
Did they really?
Yeah.
Did they really?
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, good.
I'm going to tell David that.
So that stuck it right to him.
Oh, that really does stick it to him.
Right.
Anyway, that's fine.

NARA Description

On May 24, 1973, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 5:05 pm to 5:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 039-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 39-9

Date: May 24, 1973
Time: 5:05 pm - 5:08 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

       Incoming telephone call

The President talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

[See also Conversation No. 440-47]

       Reception for former prisoners of war [POWs]
              -Response
              -President’s speech
                      -Ovations
              -Reception lines
                      -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
                      -Tricia Nixon Cox, Julie Nixon Eisenhower
              -President’s speech
                      -Betty Beale, Fay C. Wells, unnamed reporter
                      -Ovations
                      -Return of POWs
                      -President’s foreign policy
                                                        -7-

                       NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                                               Conversation No. 39-9 (cont’d)

                                    -People’s Republic of China [PRC], Union of Soviet Socialist
                                     Republics [USSR] initiatives
                                    -Secret negotiations
                                            -PRC
                                            -US-USSR agreement
                                            -POW return

*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1 m 24 s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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Also recorded on May 24, 1973

  • 039-007 4:52 PM · 21 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 4:52 pm.
  • 039-008 4:52 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:52 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 440-047 5:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:05 pm to 5:08 pm.
  • 039-010 5:09 PM · 33 sec — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 5:09 pm to 5:10 pm.
  • 440-048 5:09 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:09 pm to 5:10 pm.
  • 440-049 5:10 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:10 pm and 5:39 pm.
  • 440-050 5:10 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:10 pm and 5:39 pm.
  • 440-051 5:10 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:10 pm and 5:39 pm.

All 40 conversations from May 24, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 039-009, May 24, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/039-009 (accessed October 12, 2026).