Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 329 › Conversation 329-039

Nixon & Arbuthnot on Condolences and Vietnam War

Saturday, April 15, 1972 · 12:25 PM–12:27 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Arbuthnot, Raymond J.Conversation329-039 on Tape 329 (tape position 03:49:44–03:52:24)StartSaturday, April 15, 1972 at 12:25 PMEndSaturday, April 15, 1972 at 12:27 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 329-039 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417186275 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted Raymond J. Arbuthnot to offer personal condolences regarding the recent death of Arbuthnot's wife, Zelda. The conversation also touched on casual updates regarding Arbuthnot's ranch, family members, and the President's firm stance on the ongoing conflict with North Vietnam. The brief exchange concluded with a friendly invitation for Arbuthnot to visit the White House in the future.

Audio

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NARA Description

On April 15, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond J. Arbuthnot met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:25 pm to 12:27 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 329-039 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 329-39

Date: April 15, 1972
Time: 12:25 pm - 12:27 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Raymond J. Arbuthnot.

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/18/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[329-039-w001]
[Duration: 1m 42s]

[See Conversation No. 022-127]
[End of telephone call]

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello?
Hello?
Ray, I just learned about Zelda.
I was up in Canada that night.
Well, we just were sorry to hear about it, but I knew she'd been sick, and Pat and I wanted to send our best to you and tell old Ray to keep his daughter up.
Of course you will.
You like that old farm, don't you?
Everybody tells me, I was talking to somebody the other day, he said, you know, I don't know what he knew.
And he said he really loves that ranch.
Well, anyway, we had a lot of it.
Don't worry about it.
Things are fine.
Don't worry about the nuts.
We're going to keep kicking those damn North Vietnamese, I'm sure you know.
All right.
That's good.
They're fine, fine.
Everybody's just fine.
Oh, he's fine.
I saw him a couple weeks ago.
He hasn't changed a bit.
I mean, just like you, he never gets any older.
All the women are interested.
That's right.
No, no.
Well, good to talk to you, boy.
If you ever get back here, give us a ring, will you?
We've got a little cheap booze I can give you.
I don't know how you get on with this stuff.
All right, well, I'll take you off when you come here for one night.
All right, Ray.
Bye.
Give our best to the girls, too.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.

Also recorded on April 15, 1972

  • 022-125 11:55 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:55 am and 12:20 pm.
  • 329-033 11:55 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:55 am and 12:20 pm.
  • 022-126 12:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 12:20 pm to 12:22 pm.
  • 329-037 12:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:20 pm to 12:22 pm.
  • 329-038 12:22 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:22 pm and 12:25 pm.
  • 022-127 12:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond J. Arbuthnot talked on the telephone from 12:25 pm to 12:27 pm.
  • 329-040 12:27 PM · 1 min — 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 12:27 pm and 1:00 pm.
  • 329-041 12:27 PM · 4 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 12:27 pm and 1:00 pm.

All 27 conversations from April 15, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 329-039, April 15, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417186275). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/329-039 (accessed November 15, 2026).