Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 39 › Conversation 039-017

Nixon phone call with Keyes on Prisoners of War and Public Relations

Friday, May 25, 1973 · 1:25 AM–1:27 AM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Keyes, Paul W.Conversation039-017 on Tape 39StartFriday, May 25, 1973 at 1:25 AMEndFriday, May 25, 1973 at 1:27 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 039-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and television producer Paul W. Keyes discuss the success of a recent dinner honoring former prisoners of war (POWs). Keyes highlights the positive emotional impact of the event and the favorable television coverage received by the President, contrasting it with previous events. They briefly address minor concerns regarding performer Joey Heatherton’s attire and conclude by lamenting that Watergate-related news coverage might overshadow the broadcast of the POW event.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Yep.
Mr. President, I have Mr. Keyes calling you.
Yeah.
Go ahead, please.
Hello.
Hey, you had quite a day.
Well, did you enjoy it?
Absolutely.
I heard great things from the State Department, but I enjoyed tonight.
It was a big emotional experience for me to be there, sir.
They all did beautifully, didn't they?
Yeah, they did.
They were marvelous.
They were honorable.
And I had...
We were all a little embarrassed by Joey Hetherington, but she had assured me and her agent had assured me that she'd wear a high dress and she stayed in her wings and a jacket until she went out.
Oh, well, that's all right.
But Joey Hetherington, that's all right.
She's a sex symbol and you got a little of that, too.
Yeah, but that was all of that there was.
Everything seemed to work.
Wayne and those guys were just marvelous, and they should have tipped their hats to you.
They did.
They did.
They did.
They damn well should, but the ovation when you came in and all of their reaction to you.
I don't know if you've seen any of the television, but there are shots of you all the way, unlike the Ford thing where they didn't get too many.
You were enjoying this all the way through it, and it's good.
It's good for you, and damn it, I'm glad we did it.
How about that Irving Berlin?
Well, that was a moving thing.
Wasn't it?
My God.
And then the old Sammy Davis saying, do it again.
Yeah, that was great.
You see, that gives it a live feeling on the air.
The thing is, though, it was so late, it won't.
I hope they run a little of it tomorrow, but I understand the assholes say they can't because they've got to run the water gates.
Yeah, well, it is.
But I do think that all of the news will have it.
All of the late news had it.
They were in there filming this afternoon, and it was on the early news.
It'll be on the Today Show and all those shows tomorrow.
And I think there'll be plenty of coverage.
I think there'll be plenty of coverage, sir.
Okay, well, you deserve a lot of credit.
Thank you, sir.
I love you.
Thank you.
So do you, for other reasons.
If you'd like to go to Florida, you're welcome.
Thank you, sir, but I have to get back.
Okay, boy.
Thank you.
Thank you for all you did.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 25, 1973, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Paul W. Keyes talked on the telephone from 1:25 am to 1:27 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 039-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 39-17

Date: May 25, 1973
Time: 1:25 am - 1:27 am
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

       Incoming telephone call

The President talked with Paul W. Keyes.

       Former prisoners of war [POWs] dinner
             -Afternoon reception
                     -State Department
             -Keyes’s response
             -Joey Heatherton
                     -Attire
                     -Agent’s assurances
             -John Wayne
             -Television [TV] coverage
                     -President’s image
                             -Compared to John Ford Medal of Freedom reception
             -Irving Berlin
             -Sammy Davis, Jr.
             -TV coverage
                     -Watergate
                     -News
                     -Today Show, morning shows
             -Keyes’s efforts
             -Keyes’s schedule
                     -Invitation to Florida
                                             -19-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on May 25, 1973

  • 039-012 12:17 AM · 18 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 am and 12:57 am.
  • 039-013 12:17 AM · 19 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 am and 12:57 am.
  • 039-144 12:17 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 am and 12:57 am.
  • 039-014 12:57 AM · 1 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Paul W. Keyes talked on the telephone from 12:57 am to 12:58 am.
  • 039-015 12:58 AM · 17 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 12:58 am.
  • 039-016 12:58 AM · 26 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 12:58 am to 1:25 am.
  • 039-018 1:27 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:27 am and 1:39 am.
  • 039-019 1:39 AM · 3 min — White House operator, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Ronald L. Ziegler, President Richard M. Nixon, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 1:39 am to 1:43 am.

All 25 conversations from May 25, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 039-017, May 25, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/039-017 (accessed October 12, 2026).