Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 44 › Conversation 044-092

Nixon phone call with Moorer on POWs and Defense budget

Thursday, March 29, 1973 · 10:19 PM–10:23 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Moorer, Thomas H. (Adm.)Conversation044-092 on Tape 44StartThursday, March 29, 1973 at 10:19 PMEndThursday, March 29, 1973 at 10:23 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 044-092 ↗

AI Summary

Admiral Thomas H. Moorer called to commend President Nixon on a nationally televised speech regarding the homecoming of American prisoners of war and the state of national defense. Nixon urged Moorer to lobby Congress vigorously against defense budget cuts, arguing that a strong military posture was essential for successful negotiations with the Soviet Union on arms limitations. Additionally, the President requested that Moorer track the career advancement of a captain on the USS Albany who had served as the commanding officer for his son-in-law, David Eisenhower.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Hello.
Good evening, Mr. President.
Hello, how are you?
I just called you to tell you what a wonderful speech you made.
If that doesn't get every American up on his toes, nothing will.
Well, you're very good to call, Admiral.
You and I have been through it all, haven't we?
Yes, sir.
And I just thought I'd remind him a little of what the hell we went through in Cambodia on May 8th, and then these magnificent men that came back.
The fellow I referred to, incidentally, will get out.
It happened to be, it was Reisner.
Reisner, yeah.
He was the one.
He's a very religious man, you know.
Very.
So is Denton.
Well, Denton and Reisner, each said the same thing, but I told Ziggler he could say Reisner said it, because Denton has already said it publicly.
Right, yes, sir.
Well, I talked to both of them quite a bit after they really enjoyed talking to you, but they are real solid citizens.
They're all solid.
God damn it.
These prisoners of war have done more for the spirit of America
than a thousand speeches by a president, believe me.
Believe me.
Yes, sir.
They've done great, but your speech tonight is going to do a terrific amount of good, too, sir.
You think it will?
Yes, sir.
And you know, those prisoners, I've said many times in the press conference, we didn't select them in advance to get captured.
They simply are representative of the cross-section of Americans we had down there.
Right.
and any of them would have behaved the same way, I feel.
Oh, they're magnificent men, magnificent men, and they helped the whole spirit of the country.
How'd you like what I said about national defense, Admiral?
That was fine, sir.
We ended up struggling on... Look, fight like hell for the budget.
We cannot cut the budget.
Yes, sir.
We spent five days already on it, and we are working hard on the assignment and committee now.
Put it to them in the basis that if they cut this budget, they will destroy...
There's chances for MBFR and for the deal with the Soviet.
The Soviet, Brezhnev, I know I'm going to meet the son of a bitch this summer, and he'll be there.
And if we've already cut, he won't give me a damn thing.
You're right, sir.
That's exactly what I'm saying.
I think I got that point across.
The rule of diplomacy is that
one unbreakable rule that you can't get anything unless you've got something to give.
Exactly.
Yes, sir.
Well, we're doing our best, Mr. President.
We've got the, we've finished with the Senate now.
We've got the House Appropriation Committee and then the Armed Services Committee.
Just make the point.
Yes, sir.
Those who cut the budget will destroy the chances for reduction of armaments or limitation of armaments and for peace.
Right, sir.
Okay.
Well, we'll lay it on them as hard as we can.
All right.
Thank you, Admiral.
Again, thank you, sir.
Did you get my message I sent it over for you to convey to all the people that have handled the homecoming operation?
Did you get the word on that?
Yes, sir, and I'll take care of it.
And be sure that it goes in the files of everybody that worked on it.
They did a splendid job and they wanted to get something.
I certainly will, sir.
One other thing that I mentioned to you briefly, David had a remarkable man as his commanding officer, you know, the commander of the Albany.
Yes, sir.
He's a captain.
Do you know who he is?
Captain...
I can't think of his name.
I can't think of his name right now, but I know that... You check his name.
He's a sundowner.
He's tough.
He's a son of a bitch.
But he's a great commander.
And when he comes up for Admiral, would you watch for him and see that he gets special attention?
I certainly will, because as a young officer, you know, I've always said that...
It's really not those that you work for, it's those that work for you that really count.
This guy is not all that popular with the little guys in the crew, but he's a guy that
insisted he didn't go with all this crap about letting everybody go off.
He made him shape up and the rest.
And be sure you check that captain.
I can't think of his name, but he's a hell of a guy.
I was very impressed by him when I visited the Albany.
The captain of the Albany.
Yes, sir.
Remember that name.
You as a Navy man will be proud of him and be sure he gets the proper consideration.
I don't want to interfere, of course, with the promotion thing, but you can do something about that, I'm sure.
Yes, sir.
All right.
Well, good night, son, and thank you again.

NARA Description

On March 29, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Adm. Thomas H. Moorer talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:19 pm and 10:23 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 044-092 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 044-092

Date: March 29, 1973
Time: 10:19pm-10:23 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Adm. Thomas H. Moorer.

       President’s March 29 speech
             -Prisoners of war [POWs]
                   -Col. Robinson Risner

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                        -Statement
                  -Capt. Jeremiah P. Denton, Jr.
             -Impact

       POWs
          -Behavior

       President’s March 29 speech
             -Defense budget
                   -Moorer’s work with W[illiam] Stuart Symington’s committee
                   -Mutual Balanced Force Reduction [MBFR]
                   -Soviet Union
                         -Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II [SALT II]
                         -Meeting between President and Leonid I. Brezhnev
                   -House committees
                         -Appropriations
                         -Armed Services
                   -President’s position
                         -Budget cuts
                         -Arms limitations

       President’s message on Homecoming operation

       [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II’s commanding officer on USS Albany
                 -Performance
                 -Promotion

Also recorded on March 30, 1973

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  • 424-023 9:55 PM · 10 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 9:55 pm and 10:43 pm.
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All 60 conversations from March 30, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 044-092, March 30, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/044-092 (accessed October 1, 2026).