Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 491 › Conversation 491-027
Nixon & Butterfield on Federal Civilian Service and Awards
Wednesday, May 5, 1971 · 11:39 AM–11:40 AM ET · Oval Office ·15 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met to coordinate the logistics for upcoming Federal Civilian Service awards. They specifically discussed the need to calculate the aggregate number of years of service represented by the award recipients. This brief meeting served to ensure the accuracy of biographical data for the recognition ceremony.
- Federal Civilian Service
- Awards
- Personnel management
- White House administration
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On May 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:39 am to 11:40 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 491-027 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 491-27
Date: May 5, 1971
Time: 11:39 am - 11:40 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.
-Upcoming Federal Civilian Service awards
-Years of service
Butterfield left at 11:40 am.Also recorded on May 5, 1971
- 491-024 11:27 AM · 43 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:27 am and 11:31 am.
- 491-025 11:31 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:31 am to 11:33 am.
- 491-026 11:33 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:33 am to 11:38 am.
- 491-028 11:40 AM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Paul W. McCracken, Ezra Solomon, George P. Shultz, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:40 am to 12:08 pm.
- 491-029 12:08 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:11 pm.
- 491-030 12:11 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Samuel M. Cohn, Mrs. Samuel M. Cohn, U. Alexis Johnson, Edward F. Knipling, Mrs. Edward F. Knipling, Fred Leonard, Mrs. Fred Leonard, Mrs. George H. Willis, George H. Willis, Robert E. Hampton, John B. Connally, Clifford M. Hardin, George P. Shultz, and Frederic V. Malek met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:11 pm to 12:23 pm.
- 491-031 12:23 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John G. Tower, Robert D. ("Bob") Lee, Jill Lee, A. J. ("Bob") Blasé, Richard A. Moore, Stephen B. Bull, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:23 pm to 12:43 pm.
- 002-087 12:43 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 1:13 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 491-027, May 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/491-027 (accessed September 18, 2026).