Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 771 › Conversation 771-001

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on memorandum for the file and heroes

Wednesday, September 6, 1972 · 7:53 AM–8:13 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation771-001 on Tape 771StartWednesday, September 6, 1972 at 7:53 AMEndWednesday, September 6, 1972 at 8:13 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 771-001 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417181665 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictated a memorandum for the file, reflecting on the irony of heroes not watching games and discussing the Israeli perspective on dealing with kidnappers, suggesting the German government would overcome the situation.

Audio

Download MP3 · 5.0 MB

This clip of the conversation was cut from the tape by the National Archives (catalog record ↗).

NARA Description

On September 6, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:53 am and 8:13 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 771-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 771-1

Date: September 6, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:53 am and 8:13 am
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a memorandum for the file.

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
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[Duration: 1m 28s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was made by an AI model listening to the recording (gemini-3.8-flash) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Speaker names are the model's inference from the voices and the participant list. Words and names can still be wrong — verify against the audio and the finding aid before citing.

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).

Nixon[unintelligible]
NixonThe purpose of the irony of all of the while we're alive, you're the first to walk in. [unintelligible] we're not watching the television. We're not watching the games, but I certainly [unintelligible] that each and every one of my heroes would follow his [unintelligible] they were not watching the games.
NixonI also told him [unintelligible] expressing appreciation for my call [unintelligible] calls later in the morning. And that he probably wouldn't [unintelligible] but still are some sort of holding out.
NixonHe said that you cannot [unintelligible] certainly not. He did not uh take the time to talk [unintelligible]
NixonProbably the line [unintelligible] may or may not [unintelligible]. The Israeli say it's wrong to try to shooting down the kidnappers. The other side of this coin is [unintelligible] try to deal with these people.
NixonIn any event, I think that the German government will live it down. As I indicate uh [unintelligible] take a courageous guide in the situation, what the hell else could they do after the helicopters arrived?
NixonI am not really sure that this buys [unintelligible] anything succeeding in a successful situation like this. Believe in the course of particulars action

Also recorded on September 6, 1972

  • 771-002 8:13 AM · 1 hr 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, William P. Rogers, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., John D. Ehrlichman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:13 am to 9:48 am.
  • 771-003 9:48 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:48 am and 9:53 am.
  • 771-004 9:48 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:48 am and 9:53 am.
  • 771-005 9:53 AM · 1 hr 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Charles W. Colson, John D. Ehrlichman, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:53 am to 12:38 pm.
  • 771-006 12:38 PM · 38 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:38 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 362-025 12:40 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 2:16 pm.
  • 362-026 12:40 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 2:16 pm.
  • 362-027 2:16 PM · 52 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:16 pm and 2:50 pm.

All 16 conversations from September 6, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 771-001, September 6, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417181665). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/771-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).