Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 555 › Conversation 555-014

Nixon, Haldeman & Kissinger on Harmon Killebrew and Billy Graham

Thursday, August 5, 1971 · 8:50 PM–9:43 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation555-014 on Tape 555 (tape position 04:49:43–04:51:34)StartThursday, August 5, 1971 at 8:50 PMEndThursday, August 5, 1971 at 9:43 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 555-014 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417178771 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with H. R. Haldeman and Henry Kissinger to dictate several administrative memoranda regarding personal outreach and regional intelligence. He directed a congratulatory message to be sent to baseball player Harmon Killebrew and requested communication with Billy Graham. Additionally, Nixon addressed a missionary report concerning tribal irregular forces in Laos, highlighting their strategic importance in countering communist influence in Southeast Asia.

Harmon Killebrew
Billy Graham
Laos
Southeast Asia
Counter-insurgency
Tribal forces

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.1 MB

NARA Description

On August 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 555-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 555-14

Date: August 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a memorandum to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Harmon Killebrew
         -Possible 500th home run
              -Congratulations

The President dictated a memorandum to Henry A. Kissinger at an unknown time between 8:50
pm and 9:43 pm.

     William F. (“Billy”) Graham

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number LPRN-T-MDR-
2014-030. Segment exempt per Executive Order 13526, 3.3(b)(1) on 05/18/2019. Archivist:
MAS]
[National Security]
[555-014-w001]
[Duration: 25s]

     SOUTHEAST ASIA

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

**********************************************************************

     Laos
            -Missionary report
                 -Tribes
                      -Irregular forces
                            -Communists

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

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

in case I missed it on the sports page, or to be sure, the farming letter, I'll go to the next piece.

512, so that I can send my congratulations to Colin and Paul.

Memorandum of Kissinger.

The literati have told me of

It tells me that his missionary friends say that these tribes of which are only your regulars are our main low work against communist influence in that part of the world.

End of my rant.

Also recorded on August 5, 1971

068-002 5:22 PM · 1 hr 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and representatives of leading farm publications, including Claude Gifford, Thomas Huheey, Royal Fraderich, Wayne Swegle, Joseph A. Elliot, Cordell W. Tindall, Richard E. Albrecht, Ferdie J. Deering, William D. Knox, Robert G. Rupp, Lane Palmer, Jack Pickett, Herbert G. Klein, White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
068-003 5:22 PM · 26 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
068-004 5:22 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
068-005 5:22 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
555-013 8:50 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John C. Whitaker, Ruby Keeler, Bobby Van, and J. Willard Marriott met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.
555-015 8:50 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.
555-016 8:50 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Jim Brown met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.
555-017 8:50 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.

All 25 conversations from August 5, 1971 →

Nixon phone call with Saxbe on Laos and Southeast Asia April 21, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon & Haig on Laos and Foreign Policy March 21, 1973 · 14 min
Nixon phone call with Killebrew on Major League Baseball August 11, 1971 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Rogers on Southeast Asia and POW issue April 7, 1971 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Southeast Asia and Public Relations April 7, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon, Rebozo & Sanchez on Southeast Asia and Vietnam War April 7, 1971 · 5 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 555-014, August 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417178771). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/555-014 (accessed November 2, 2026).