{"conversationCode":"243-003","tapeNumber":243,"conversationNumber":3,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-243-003","startDateTime":"1973-02-24T00:15:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-02-24T00:18:00.000Z","startDate":"23-Feb-1973","startTime":"7:15 PM","endDate":"23-Feb-1973","endTime":"7:18 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Wallace, George C.;","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.","locationCode":"CDHW","recordingDevice":"Camp David Hard Wire","latitudeEstimated":39.648333,"longitudeEstimated":-77.465,"chronCode":"5.4","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part IV","chronReleaseDate":"8-Dec-2010","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 243-3\n\nDate: February 23, 1973\nTime: 7:15 pm - 7:18 pm\nLocation: Camp David Hard Wire\n\nThe President talked with George C. Wallace.\n\n[See Conversation No. 162-3]","filename":["243-003.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Wallace, George C."],"prevCode":"243-002","nextCode":"243-004","transcript":[{"start":0.6,"end":3.77,"text":"Hello?"},{"start":3.79,"end":3.91,"text":"Hello?"},{"start":5.47,"end":17.37,"text":"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."},{"start":17.39,"end":27.36,"text":"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."},{"start":27.38,"end":29.68,"text":"And also I must say with regard, without"},{"start":30.54,"end":39.95,"text":"You and others in this country, despite all the criticism we had, stood by us to get peace and honor."},{"start":43.1,"end":50.75,"text":"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."},{"start":50.77,"end":56.48,"text":"And that's what they were saying, weren't they?"},{"start":56.5,"end":57.56,"text":"The two that I'm..."},{"start":57.84,"end":64.83,"text":"Just speaking to the nation, I've got 250 congressmen, Democrats, Republicans, supporters, and all this."},{"start":64.85,"end":69.8,"text":"I said, they made us all proud of being Americans."},{"start":69.82,"end":77.48,"text":"They've inspired the country, and we really are most grateful to them."},{"start":77.5,"end":82.59,"text":"Let them know how we feel about that, what they've done."},{"start":85.29,"end":87.83,"text":"Say that we're just as proud of their wives as we are of them."},{"start":88.71,"end":100.03,"text":"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."},{"start":101.95,"end":104.67,"text":"We don't want our husbands to come back with their heads low."},{"start":105.85,"end":111.86,"text":"We want them to come back with their heads high."},{"start":111.88,"end":112.46,"text":"Right."},{"start":112.48,"end":112.78,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":113.39,"end":115.09,"text":"That's what we see with the governor's name."},{"start":118.56,"end":126.69,"text":"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."},{"start":126.71,"end":128.91,"text":"And we're just looking forward to it."},{"start":128.93,"end":131.19,"text":"We're going to have a good program that night."},{"start":131.31,"end":136.96,"text":"It will be, you know, typical of what many of us should hear."},{"start":136.98,"end":141,"text":"We're going to have the Army Chorus and Stout-Hearted Men."},{"start":141.03,"end":142.07,"text":"Does that sound all right to you?"},{"start":143.13,"end":143.41,"text":"Aye, Governor."},{"start":143.43,"end":143.71,"text":"Aye, Governor."},{"start":147.37,"end":153.72,"text":"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."},{"start":153.78,"end":158.01,"text":"Thank you very much."},{"start":158.05,"end":162.19,"text":"Give our best to Mrs. Wallace and all the POWs and their wives."},{"start":163.9,"end":165.14,"text":"Okay, goodbye."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"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.","topics":["Vietnam War","POWs","George Wallace","Peace with Honor","Presidential communication"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T11:28:29.347Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","pows","george-wallace","peace-with-honor","presidential-communication"],"audioDurationSec":173,"audioFiles":[{"file":"243-003.mp3","bytes":1292288,"durationSec":172.73,"bitrate":59851,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:36.695Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/243-003.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/243-003","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/243/conversation-243-003","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}