Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 243 › Conversation 243-003

Nixon phone call with Wallace on Vietnam War and POWs

Friday, February 23, 1973 · 7:15 PM–7:18 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Wallace, George C.Conversation243-003 on Tape 243StartFriday, February 23, 1973 at 7:15 PMEndFriday, February 23, 1973 at 7:18 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 243-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted Governor George C. Wallace to offer his support and appreciation for a dinner event honoring returning Vietnam War prisoners of war. Nixon emphasized that the nation’s success in securing 'peace with honor' was due to the resilience of the POWs and their families. The discussion centered on the importance of maintaining national pride and gratitude for the sacrifice and steadfastness of those affected by the war.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Hello?
Governor, I wanted you to express my, the appreciation of the nation and my best wishes to those that you're having tonight for your dinner.
And would you also say that without their courage and the courage of their wives and their mothers and the rest, we couldn't have done this.
And also I must say with regard, without
You and others in this country, despite all the criticism we had, stood by us to get peace and honor.
We're just bringing them back, but it's bringing them back with our heads high rather than just getting them back for the sake of getting them back, you know.
And that's what they were saying, weren't they?
The two that I'm...
Just speaking to the nation, I've got 250 congressmen, Democrats, Republicans, supporters, and all this.
I said, they made us all proud of being Americans.
They've inspired the country, and we really are most grateful to them.
Let them know how we feel about that, what they've done.
Say that we're just as proud of their wives as we are of them.
You see, the point is that the women, they could have, you know, and a few did, but most of them stood firm and said, look, we want peace and honor.
We don't want our husbands to come back with their heads low.
We want them to come back with their heads high.
Right.
Yeah.
That's what we see with the governor's name.
We expect you and Mrs. Wallace, and let me say that I'm calling to say a few words as the head of the Southern Governors.
And we're just looking forward to it.
We're going to have a good program that night.
It will be, you know, typical of what many of us should hear.
We're going to have the Army Chorus and Stout-Hearted Men.
Does that sound all right to you?
Aye, Governor.
Aye, Governor.
Yeah, I heard about it, but I heard you came out well, and I really pray it for you, and I hope everything goes okay.
Thank you very much.
Give our best to Mrs. Wallace and all the POWs and their wives.
Okay, goodbye.

NARA Description

On February 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and George C. Wallace met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 7:15 pm to 7:18 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 243-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 243-3

Date: February 23, 1973
Time: 7:15 pm - 7:18 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with George C. Wallace.

[See Conversation No. 162-3]

Also recorded on February 24, 1973

  • 162-003 7:15 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George C. Wallace talked on the telephone at Camp David from 7:15 pm to 7:18 pm.
  • 243-015 7:18 PM · 15 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 7:18 pm on February 23, 1973 and 8:55 am on February 24, 1973.
  • 162-004 12:01 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:01 am and 8:55 am.
  • 243-004 12:01 AM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:01 am and 8:55 am.
  • 243-005 8:55 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:55 am to 8:56 am.
  • 243-006 8:56 AM · 29 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, unknown person(s), President Richard M. Nixon, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:56 am and 1:36 pm.
  • 162-005 1:36 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 1:36 pm.
  • 162-006 1:36 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:36 pm and 6:10 pm.

All 20 conversations from February 24, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 243-003, February 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/243-003 (accessed October 12, 2026).