Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 336 › Conversation 336-055

Nixon alone in his EOB office on Vietnam War and Public speaking

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 6:14 PM–6:22 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 47 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation336-055 on Tape 336 (tape position 02:38:25–02:39:09)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 6:14 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 6:22 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 336-055 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon utilized this session to rehearse his upcoming televised address regarding the status of the Vietnam War. This preparation focused on refining his rhetoric and delivery to effectively communicate administration policy to the American public. The brief meeting served as a final executive review before the formal announcement of his administration’s strategy in Southeast Asia.

Audio

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Position in tape: 02:38:25 – 02:39:09

part B, 35:04

336a.mp3
336b.mp3
336c.mp3

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-055 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 336-55

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 6:19 and 6:22 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President rehearsed his “Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia”.

[See Public Papers of the Presidents, Richard M. Nixon, 1972, pp. 583-587]

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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

It is you, most of all, who will be watching.
I know that you want to end this war.
I know how much you want to regret it.
I can do no more.
All that I have said and done in this past three and a half years, I will try to do my end to war right now.
You want peace.
I want peace.
But you also want honor, not defeat.
You want a gentle peace, not a peace that is merely a praise to the other world.
At this moment, we must stand together in courage.
And so often in the past, we Americans did not choose to serve in forced amounts.

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 336-041 5:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-049 6:09 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:09 pm to 6:14 pm.
  • 336-050 6:14 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-051 6:14 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-052 6:14 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-053 6:14 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 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-054 6:14 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-056 6:22 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:22 pm to 6:34 pm.

All 118 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 336-055, May 8, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/336-055 (accessed November 2, 2026).