Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 414 › Conversation 414-014

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Prisoners of War

Friday, March 2, 1973 · 10:25 AM–11:00 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 39 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation414-014 on Tape 414StartFriday, March 2, 1973 at 10:25 AMEndFriday, March 2, 1973 at 11:00 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 414-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to discuss the status and timing of the upcoming release of prisoners of war (POWs) held by the Vietcong. The President sought confirmation on whether the administration should maintain the March 4th deadline for these releases. They reviewed intelligence and expected timelines to ensure the North Vietnamese and Vietcong would adhere to the established schedule.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Do Henry, on the D.C. prisoners, do we hang tough on the March 4th date?
But that's... Oh, I see.
That makes sense.
Okay.
What do you have suggested we are sure will be released on March 4th?
Yeah.
According to our leaks, we expect that to be flat out.

NARA Description

On March 2, 1973, 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 10:25 am and 11:00 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 414-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 414-14

Date: March 2, 1973
Time: Unknown between 10:25 am and 11:00 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

       Prisoners of war [POWs] release
              -Vietcong
              -Timing

Also recorded on March 2, 1973

  • 037-027 9:24 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan talked on the telephone from 9:24 am to 9:27 am.
  • 037-028 9:27 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:27 am and 9:31 am.
  • 037-029 9:31 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Kenneth R. Cole, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:31 am to 9:38 am.
  • 414-012 9:31 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Kenneth R. Cole, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:31 am to 9:38 am.
  • 414-013 9:40 AM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:40 am to 10:25 am.
  • 414-015 10:25 AM · 8 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 10:25 am and 11:00 am.
  • 867-001 11:01 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:01 am to 11:05 am.
  • 867-002 11:05 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:05 am and 11:59 pm.

All 58 conversations from March 2, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 414-014, March 2, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/414-014 (accessed October 1, 2026).