Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 508 › Conversation 508-014

Nixon, Hopkins & Bull on Medal of Freedom and Ceremonial planning

Wednesday, June 2, 1971 · 12:04 PM–12:12 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan); Hopkins, William J.; Hopkins, William J. (Mrs.); Castell, John N.; Castell, John N. (Mrs.)Conversation508-014 on Tape 508 (tape position 02:34:59–02:41:07)StartWednesday, June 2, 1971 at 12:04 PMEndWednesday, June 2, 1971 at 12:12 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 508-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Pat Nixon, and Stephen Bull met with William J. Hopkins and his guests to coordinate a Medal of Freedom ceremony. The participants discussed the logistics and sequence of events for the presentation, including the role of Commander Craig Campbell. Following brief social conversation regarding their shared experiences growing up in small towns, the group departed the Oval Office to proceed to the formal ceremony.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 39% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
and Jason's on her way in as well.
Also, Mr. President, I'm listening to this morning's email.
The first one is that this is a medal of freedom and surprise to you, including Bill Hopkins.
Did you even know that?
Yeah, I was just editing it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bill Hopkins is outside with his wife, and he's got a
his wife's cousin, and his daughter.
We'll just bring them in and introduce them.
Then we'll bring them to the family and put them outside.
Thank you, you and Mrs. Nixon and Mr. and Mrs. Bill.
William J. Hopkin will be announced by the door and will walk out into the steps, sir.
All right, Tom, let's go.
There is one thing.
After your remarks, sir, Craig Cannon will be standing behind you.
Commander Cannon will be behind you when you're ready for the second.
I'll give it a position.
I'll give it a position.
I'll give it a position.
I'll give it a position.
I'll give it a position.
I'll give it a position.
Well, it's quite a day.
Quite a day.
Well, Mr. President, does it feel like you've been here 40 years?
No, it hasn't.
That's great.
Yes, it's a children's recovery system.
In other words, I grew up in a small town of about 150 people.
That's even smaller than the size of the town.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Well, .
This way.
He's going to keep going out.
He's going to keep going out.
He's going to keep going out.
He's going to keep going out.
He's going to keep going out.
He's going to keep going out.
We can just go to the auditorium, and the president and Mrs. Nixon will be first, and you and Mrs. Hopkins will be behind.
And down to that middle level of the step, if you present yourself, basically all your friends, Mrs. Nixon to the far right, and Mrs. Hopkins, and the president will be the step in front of you.
And there you'll be to the president's left.
President, just...
Late and done.
The President of the United States and Mrs. Nicholas, Your Honorals and Mrs. Woodrow J. Fauci.

NARA Description

On June 2, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, William J. Hopkins, Mrs. William J. Hopkins, John N. Castell, and Mrs. John N. Castell met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:04 pm and 12:12 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 508-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 508-014

Date: June 2, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:04 pm and 12:12 pm

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull

     President’s schedule
           -Certificate
           -Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon

Mrs. Nixon entered at 12:07 pm

            -Medal of Freedom presentation
                -William J. Hopkins
                       -Family
                -Sequence of events
                -Citation
                       -Commander Craig S. Campbell

Bull left at an unknown time before 12:08 pm

     Oval Office
          -Furnishings

Bull, Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins, Gail Hopkins, and Mr. and Mrs. John N. Castell entered at 12:08
pm

     Introductions

     W. J. Hopkins’ home town in Kansas
           -President’s home town
           -High school

Bull, G. Hopkins, and Mr. and Mrs. Castell left at 12:10 pm

     Hopkins’ role with administration

Bull entered at an unknown time after 12:10 pm

     Arrangements for ceremony

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[An unknown man introduced the participants]

     [Applause]

The President, Mrs. Nixon, and Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins left at 12:12 pm

Also recorded on June 2, 1971

  • 508-012 9:20 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:20 am to 9:40 am.
  • 508-013 9:45 AM · 2 hr 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:45 am to 12:04 pm.
  • 508-015 12:19 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:19 pm and 12:24 pm.
  • 508-016 12:19 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:19 pm and 12:24 pm.
  • 508-017 12:24 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:24 pm to 12:26 pm.
  • 508-018 12:26 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:26 pm.
  • 508-019 12:26 PM · 1 hr 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Robert H. Finch, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 2:25 pm.
  • 510-001 2:25 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:25 pm to 3:15 pm.

All 42 conversations from June 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 508-014, June 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/508-014 (accessed September 27, 2026).