Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 503 › Conversation 503-004

Nixon & Butterfield on National Medals of Science and Awards ceremony

Friday, May 21, 1971 · 9:40 AM–9:46 AM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation503-004 on Tape 503 (tape position 01:07:38–01:08:37)StartFriday, May 21, 1971 at 9:40 AMEndFriday, May 21, 1971 at 9:46 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 503-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met to coordinate the logistics and presentation strategy for the National Medals of Science awards ceremony. They discussed the physical handling of the medals, specifically debating the most effective way to present the awards to recipients without creating awkward or cumbersome visual moments. The discussion focused on streamlining the protocol to ensure the ceremony proceeded smoothly and with proper decorum.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 69% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Now I was just looking at these, uh, metals.
I don't know if there's really no different way.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
It's the only way to get a visual picture.
And people feel very, you know, it feels like eating something.
And it's awesome.
You put it around and you clip it and you just... What are you going to do?
What are you going to do versus, you know, the big metal and have a sword?
You're not going to make, you're going to make it where?
You don't want to, you don't want to power something around.
It's like, I don't know, I don't know what to do with this.

NARA Description

On May 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:40 am to 9:46 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 503-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 503-4

Date: May 21, 1971
Time: 9:40 am - 9:46 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     National Medals of Science
          -Awards
          -Strategy for making ceremony go smoothly
          -Medal of honor

Butterfield left at 9:46 am.

Also recorded on May 21, 1971

  • 503-001 8:13 AM · 1 hr 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:13 am and 9:25 am.
  • 503-002 9:25 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:25 am and 9:37 am.
  • 003-108 9:37 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 9:37 am to 9:40 am.
  • 503-003 9:37 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:37 am to 9:40 am.
  • 503-005 9:46 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:46 am and 9:53 am.
  • 503-006 9:53 AM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, Gerard C. Smith, Paul H. Nitze, Llewellyn E. ("Tommy") Thompson, Jr., Philip J. Farley, Alexander P. Butterfield, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:53 am to 10:43 am.
  • 503-007 10:46 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:46 am to 10:47 am.
  • 503-008 10:47 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:47 am and 11:02 am.

All 40 conversations from May 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 503-004, May 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/503-004 (accessed October 12, 2026).