Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-058

Nixon phone call with Denton on Prisoners of War and Vietnam War

Tuesday, February 13, 1973 · 8:35 AM–8:37 AM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Denton, Jeremiah A., Jr.Conversation043-058 on Tape 43StartTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 8:35 AMEndTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 8:37 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-058 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon called Mrs. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. to express his gratitude and admiration for her husband following his recent release from captivity as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. The President acknowledged the sacrifices made by the families of POWs and credited their resilience with helping the administration achieve an honorable end to the war. During the exchange, Nixon shared personal anecdotes from his own military service to emphasize the significance of the simple comforts the returning men would soon enjoy.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Right, right.
Mr. President.
Hello.
Mr. President.
Ms. Denton, I wanted you to know how very proud we all were when we saw your husband come off and what he said from that plane.
And we're just...
I'm very proud of him too.
Very happy and very grateful to you as all of us are.
Well, I said that the main thing is that all of you, I mean you, the wives and children, the fact that you sort of kept the faith, that made it possible for us to get an honorable end to this war.
And that's what all matters.
They didn't suffer in vain.
Well, I don't think so, and I don't know how to express how happy we are and how relieved the men are.
Well, you just, when they get back there now, you feed him up a little.
He looks a little bit thin.
I will.
He called me yesterday and said he had the first hot bath in seven and a half years.
So they have a lot to catch up on, a lot of things that we take for granted.
A hot bath, sure, and I suppose it, oh, you'll be looking for, you know, the...
Things that we all take for granted.
I remember that one of the things I recall was that it was nice to feel a cloth napkin again, you know?
Yeah.
I was in the Pacifica, but that wasn't much, but I remember there was that.
And get some real potatoes again, that was something, instead of the other kind.
So, well, you're at Virginia Beach, are you?
Yes, sir.
Well, that's fine.
And all your children are all right and everything?
getting along pretty well.
Right.
We wish you just the very best.
Well, thank you, Mr. President.
I appreciate it.
When will you see him?
About two or three days he'd be back?
Maybe a week.
I think what they want to do, I think, is to give them a chance to, you know, get a hot bath and get all their physicals and all that sort of thing.
And then they'll get them home.
But I issued instructions there to keep them only as long as it's necessary.
But, you know, when we send our men to the moon, we have to put them in, you know, try to wash off all that moon dust, and I guess they want to get all that North Vietnam dust off of them before they come home.
After seven and a half years, my goodness.
It's a lifetime.
Well, now you make up for it, okay?
Well, we will intend to do that, and thank you.
That's your life.
Take a nice trip.
Okay.

NARA Description

On February 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:35 am to 8:37 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-058 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-58

Date: February 13, 1973
Time: 8:35 am - 8:37 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Mrs. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 854-4]

       Denton’s return from captivity
            -Reaction
            -Length in captivity
            -The President’s appreciation

       The President’s military experience
            -World War II

       Timing of return
            -Physical
                                             -31-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                                Conversation No. 43-58 (cont’d)

Also recorded on February 13, 1973

  • 043-056 8:27 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:33 am.
  • 043-057 8:27 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Robinson Risner talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:33 am.
  • 854-003 8:27 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Robinson Risner met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:33 am.
  • 854-004 8:35 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Mrs. Jeremiah P. Denton met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:35 am to 8:37 am.
  • 043-059 8:37 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 8:47 am.
  • 854-005 8:37 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 8:47 am.
  • 043-060 8:47 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Claudia A. Johnson talked on the telephone from 8:47 am to 8:54 am.
  • 854-006 8:47 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Claudia A. Johnson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:47 am to 8:54 am.

All 55 conversations from February 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-058, February 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-058 (accessed October 1, 2026).