Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 556 › Conversation 556-015

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on White House staff

Friday, August 6, 1971 · 12:17 PM–12:20 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation556-015 on Tape 556 (tape position 02:03:51–02:05:00)StartFriday, August 6, 1971 at 12:17 PMEndFriday, August 6, 1971 at 12:20 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 556-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to personally offer birthday greetings and express appreciation for her dedicated service. He acknowledged her role as a hardworking member of the White House staff and encouraged her to take time off to celebrate the occasion. This brief interaction served as a gesture of executive recognition for a member of the support staff.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 29.8 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:03:51 into the tape and ends around 02:05:00.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:03:52Diolch yn fawr iawn.
2:04:25I just learn from one of my spies here that you were celebrating your birthday and I want to extend my best wishes.
2:04:34And I know you're one of the hardest working members of that family.
2:04:38So now you take off now.

NARA Description

On August 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 556-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No.556-15

Date: August 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 7-67]

Also recorded on August 6, 1971

  • 007-066 12:16 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Wright Patman talked on the telephone from 12:16 pm to 12:17 pm.
  • 007-067 12:17 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 007-068 12:17 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 007-069 12:17 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 007-162 12:17 PM · 3 sec — the White House operator and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 556-014 12:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 556-016 12:17 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 556-017 12:17 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.

All 35 conversations from August 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 556-015, August 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/556-015 (accessed October 9, 2026).