Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 676 › Conversation 676-013

Nixon & Butterfield on West Virginia flood and Disaster relief

Wednesday, March 1, 1972 · 9:50 AM–9:57 AM ET · Oval Office · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation676-013 on Tape 676 (tape position 01:13:44–01:19:33)StartWednesday, March 1, 1972 at 9:50 AMEndWednesday, March 1, 1972 at 9:57 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 676-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield discussed the logistical feasibility and political implications of a potential presidential trip to assess flood damage in West Virginia. Butterfield provided a detailed breakdown of flight times and the limited activity in the disaster zone, noting the presence of refugees and reconstruction crews. Ultimately, Nixon decided against the visit due to the lack of substantive purpose and the political sensitivity surrounding the cause of the dam failure. The conversation concluded with a brief mention of upcoming travel plans to Key Biscayne.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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What's the dope on it now?
Okay, the dope is that you'd land at Charleston if you weren't just going to circle the area.
You circle the area.
That does my thing a little funny.
It's so narrow.
You land at Charleston, you go down by helicopter.
All of the people are out of there.
They're only construction workers in the area in National Guard.
You could hit that creek and fly down the creek to Mann, which is at the southwestern extremity of the flooded area.
And that is the only refugee area.
And there are today some 400 refugees living on the mass gymnasiums and that sort of thing, about 400.
I don't know if one of those congressmen are on the scene down there or not, but they could be on.
The bird, as you probably know, had planned to go down there tomorrow.
He's tied up on a bus and going today.
He planned he couldn't go today, but he might be able to get away.
Yeah.
So the recommendation is not to go.
Well, the recommendation is that if you do go back there, it would be best not to circle.
It would be best to land.
Oh, yes.
Oh, I don't want to circle anything.
Yeah.
And...
It would be roughly an hour and 45 minutes of time, for the time to land at the crossing place of Boston.
30 minutes down in the chopper, 20 minutes in the area, maybe 30 in the area if you didn't land at Mann.
And if you went down and you want to land at Mann.
30 minutes back to Charleston.
And the governor's in Charleston now.
You know what's a good idea?
I just think maybe it's... Well, I could...
I don't see how you can do much.
I could see some advantages to... And you can put down a chopper in this area where they're building.
Yeah.
Photographed with a total construction gaps in the background.
30 minute chopper ride, you say?
Yes.
60 miles, 30 miles.
To the creek itself.
Then you'd have to go down the creek 10 miles.
And it hit that creek at about the halfway line.
Turn southwest.
No inhabitants there at all.
And the town of Laredo wasn't wiped out completely, so there's nothing there at all.
That's the town that got the most publicity, and that's at about the halfway mark.
It is at Laredo, down the land.
And that is one of the regional offices that happens to be in Manhattan.
They've got an office set up there.
And perhaps he can tell you more.
Yeah, I know.
I just don't want to get into the .
I don't think it's actually enough such consent to do.
Another reason that I think I would say the same, make the same decision is that there are all kinds of implications here, whether it was state responsibility or company responsibility to how that dam broke, which is the consideration of anything that happened.
I got all kinds of political, you know,
Okay, fine, fine, I'll just have to tell him.
Thanks very much, but I don't think there's enough substance.
All right, sir.
But he could indicate.
He'd rather than everybody else, he'd rather than spend some time with these people where he's interested in it.
They know that already, but I call them all the time.
I can't just let it go all the time.
Come on in this morning, can't I?
All right, all right.
And B.B.
does have a sort of a surprise for you that you're not supposed to know.
He's got a lot of kids lined up down there.
You're welcome to wear the board clothes and everything.
Down in the bay, down at the Tiva's Game.
That's where I was finding kids out of school and stuff.
It was over there.
At 3 for about 2.30.
They're going to be on the ropes.
Yes, sir.
I'll get in front of the house down there.
All right.
Quite a big turn on him.
I'll get it.
Please, for about 2.33.
OK, thank you.

NARA Description

On March 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:50 am and 9:57 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 676-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 676-13

Date: March 1, 1972
Time: 9:50 am - unknown before 9:57 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President’s schedule
          -Possible trip to West Virginia
                -Charleston
                -Flood inspection
                       -Construction workers
                       -National Guardsmen
                -Man, West Virginia
                       -Refugees
                -Robert C. Byrd
                       -Busing
           -Butterfield’s recommendations
                -Time involved
                -Gov. [Arch A. Moore, Jr.]
                       -Charleston
           -Helicopter
           -Flood damage
                -Lorado, West Virginia
                -Man, West Virginia
                       -Gen. George A. Lincoln
                             -Regional office of the Office of Emergency Preparedness
           -Damage to dam
                -State responsibility
                -Company responsibility
           The President’s concern
                -Byrd
                -Forthcoming call to Moore
           -Key Biscayne
                -Charles G. ("Bebe”) Rebozo
                       -The President’s arrival

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 9:57 am.

Also recorded on March 1, 1972

  • 676-007 8:43 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 8:50 am.
  • 020-135 8:50 AM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:50 am to 9:08 am.
  • 676-009 8:50 AM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:50 am to 9:08 am.
  • 676-010 9:08 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:08 am and 9:10 am.
  • 676-011 9:08 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:08 am and 9:10 am.
  • 676-012 9:23 AM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, Henry A. Kissinger, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:23 am to 9:50 am.
  • 676-014 9:50 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:50 am and 9:57 am.
  • 676-015 9:57 AM · 1 hr 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, Marjorie P. Acker, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:57 am to 11:19 am.

All 40 conversations from March 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 676-013, March 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/676-013 (accessed October 12, 2026).