Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 255 › Conversation 255-015

Nixon & Hughes on Presidential yacht and Sequoia

Monday, June 7, 1971 · 2:46 PM–2:47 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Hughes, James D. ("Don")Conversation255-015 on Tape 255 (tape position 00:23:37–00:24:51)StartMonday, June 7, 1971 at 2:46 PMEndMonday, June 7, 1971 at 2:47 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 255-015 ↗

President Nixon met with his military aide, Major General James D. Hughes, to coordinate logistics regarding the use of the presidential yacht, the Sequoia. Nixon explicitly directed that the vessel be made available to a specific unnamed individual, emphasizing that this person should receive preferential treatment over others. The conversation served to formalize scheduling arrangements and ensure the guest felt prioritized.

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Hello.
Don has, uh, commonly used the Sequoia since he's come back home.
I don't think so.
Yeah, well, make a special effort to see that it's offered to him.
Sometime I know we're going to use a 39 or something like that for our new company, but I, uh, think we're not going to offer it to him.
I think it's going to be over the next week, but I hope to be sure that he knows that we want to use it.
I want him a little bit higher than some of the others.
They all know they'll be bugging him for it.
He will not.
Good.
All right.
Oh, well, sorry.
We were up at 10.
We had to be up at 10.
Great.
Great.
Great.
All right.
All right.
Bye.
I want him to go.

On June 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and James D. ("Don") Hughes met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:46 pm to 2:47 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 255-015 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 255-15

Date: June 7, 1971
Time: 2:46 pm - 2:47 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Major General James D. (“Don”) Hughes

[See Conversation No. 4-56]
  • 255-014 2:43 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:43 pm and 2:46 pm.
  • 004-056 2:46 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and James D. ("Don") Hughes talked on the telephone from 2:46 pm to 2:47 pm.
  • 004-057 2:47 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:47 pm and 2:49 pm.
  • 255-016 2:47 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:47 pm and 2:49 pm.
  • 004-058 2:49 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 2:49 pm to 2:50 pm.
  • 255-017 2:49 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:49 pm to 2:50 pm.
  • 004-059 2:50 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:50 pm and 2:57 pm.
  • 255-046 2:50 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:50 pm and 2:57 pm.

Conversation 255-015, June 7, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/255-015 (accessed September 27, 2026).