Conversation 778-021

TapeTape 778StartFriday, September 15, 1972 at 11:50 AMEndFriday, September 15, 1972 at 12:13 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Carr, Patrick E.;  Holt, Cooper T.;  Rhatican, William F.;  White House photographerRecording deviceOval Office

On September 15, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Patrick E. Carr, Cooper T. Holt, William F. Rhatican, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:50 am to 12:13 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 778-021 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 778-21

Date: September 15, 1972
Time: 11:50 am - 12:13 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Patrick E. Carr, Cooper T. Holt, and William F. Rhatican.

[The White House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.]

          Greeting

          Presentation to the President of porcelain eagle
             -New Orleans

                               (rev. Feb-24)

Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] Dinner

Telephone call from the President
   -The President's schedule
   -California

Holt's experience
   -1956

Vietnam War
   -VFW support for administration policies
        -Press coverage
   -VFW Support of the President
   -Mining of Haiphong harbor
   -Military progress
        -US casualties
        -Quang Tri
            -North Vietnamese
   -Prisoners of war [POWs]
        -Demand for return
        -US peace proposals
            -The President's position
   -Bombing
   -Mining
   -Return of POWs
   -Importance of 1972 election
        -Effect on negotiations
        -The President's policies
   -Return of Marine POWs
        -Korean POWs
        -Adm. John S. McCain, Jr.'s son
   -US position in war
        -Support of POW families
            -North Vietnamese position
        -Return of prisoners
        -Negotiating stance
            -Presidential evaluation

Foreign policy
   -Henry A. Kissinger's trip to Paris

                              (rev. Feb-24)

   -Negotiations
       -The President's re-election
           -Effect on President's policies

Vietnam War
   -North Vietnam
       -Military position
            -US domestic conditions
       -Bombing
   -The President's May 8, 1972 speech
       -Hue
       -Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN]
   -North Vietnamese shortages
       -Food
       -Medical supplies
       -Ammunition
   -Effectiveness of blockade
       -British blockade of World War I
       -Civil War
       -Economic effects
   -German World War II POWs
   -Herbert R. Rainwater
   -POWs' situation
       -Effect on North Vietnamese
       -Administration policy
   -Administration policy
       -Bombing
       -Negotiations
   -North Vietnam
       -Bargaining position
            -Effect of Presidential election
       -Military strategies
            -World War II
                 -German cities
            -Combat casualties
            -South Vietnamese
   -US public opinion
       -Support for the President
            -Bombing
            -Mining
            -Decisive actions

                             (rev. Feb-24)

            -Negotiations
                -The President's policy
       -Possibility of war
            -Press view
                -Soviet Union
                -World War III
                -Cambodia
                -The People's Republic of China [PRC]
                -Moscow summit
       -Troop support of the President
            -The President's May 8, 1972 decision
                -Carr's visit to Vietnam
   -North Vietnamese
       -Soviet tanks
       -Oil
       -Pipeline to replace barges
       -Effect on negotiations
            -Nationalism
            -Indochina peninsula
            -North Vietnam

North Vietnam
   -Scope of war
       -Cambodia
       -Laos
       -Thailand

Support of VFW
   -Support for mining Haiphong harbor
   -Support of the President in election
   -George S. McGovern and Frank F. Mankiewicz
       -Carr's speech
       -Internal Revenue Service [IRS]
   -VFW convention
       -Minneapolis
       -McGovern
            -Amnesty

Amnesty issue
  -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
  -McGovern

                                      (rev. Feb-24)

                -Advocacy of amnesty
                -Compared to Abraham Lincoln
                -Lincoln's strategy
                     -Proclamation of amnesty
                     -Union deserters
                          -Prison term
                          -Carl Sandburg
            -The President's stand
                -Penalty
                -Peace Corps
                -Deserters compared to combat troops
                     -Canada
                -Ramifications for future
            -Effects of granting amnesty
                -Volunteer forces
                -Future wars
                     -Cuba
                     -Canada
                -Reaction of draftees

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 11/14/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[778-021-w002]
[Duration: 1m 17s]

      1972 election
             -Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] convention
                    -Spiro T. Agnew’s August 1972 speech
                    -Support of Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] for the President
             -George S. McGovern's election chances
                    -Canada
                    -Compared to 1948 presidential election
                             -The President's efforts
             -Potential election of George S. McGovern to Presidency
                    -Potential effect on US
             -The President's campaign style
                    -Forthcoming attacks on George S. McGovern

                                          (rev. Feb-24)

                              -Timing

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

          VFW support for the President

          The President's possible visit to VFW convention
             -New Orleans

          Presentation of gifts
             -Presidential cuff links

Carr, Holt and Rhatican left at 12:13 pm.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
Oh, well, I understand.
Yeah.
I called him.
Yeah, I'll talk to him.
Yes, you can call him.
Tell me this.
This is Cooper.
He's been a good guy.
I know.
He's been a good guy.
He's been a good guy.
He's been a good guy.
He's been a good guy.
I want to say that as I go through the fall, the WWN's commanders have just been fantastic in their support of our policies and national events in Vietnam and so forth.
They were very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,
but the response
You know, our cash is now, of course, it's hard.
It's the last two weeks of one.
Right.
And that's back in 300.
I mean, the North Indian and the South Indian, these are cursed.
Now they've turned the whole tide of battle.
It's a miserable law.
It will end.
We've got to deal with it.
We're not going to make any deal.
It starts out.
And we believe you mean that.
Absolutely.
Because if you'd have that, it'd be so easy to say, well, I'll just make those videos and post it on Instagram.
And in order to do that,
We're not going to stop.
We will get them.
I have a question.
If it wouldn't have been for some of our national leadership, which I have no way of knowing, but I'm convinced in my own mind that it would have been after the
yeah yeah yeah yeah
I guess it's a big tree that they may bring along.
I mean, that would be the worst.
And they may come back with it.
Well, we just have to see it through.
You will.
It'll come out.
I mean, I respect all these wives.
People are just playing with things the other day.
Yeah, he's just playing with this.
We can't let him do that.
We'll get him back.
He'll come soon.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
The reason we're playing off this screen is that they've got to look at their whole car.
which will be their evaluation.
There are shortages of food, shortages of medical supply, shortages of arms.
Yes, sir.
That's the way a blockade works.
a long time.
We met when Rainwater was in the organization by building up public opinion on trying to
it was going to be helpful.
In regular respect... Well, I'm not so sure they've turned it around now, and it seems they want to use a missed call.
Oh, excuse me, I hope.
I see what you mean.
Don't let the public know.
There you go.
I agree.
from a humanitarian standpoint, they'd be forced by
but it's my thinking that maybe we shouldn't play it out too much I wouldn't have the issue with that issue from the center because these people are not affected by moral arguments they're only affected by power that's my
I believe that there's going to be a break-in.
There's going to be a break-in.
Yeah, I was going to say,
We've got reasons now that we might want to, you know, try to be more reasonable.
But after the election, what the hell do we still need to do?
From a political standpoint, would you say, all right, you've asked for it, we'll settle this thing, and we'll settle it our way.
Now, there are lots of things that we can do in the North we haven't done yet.
I'm not referring to nuclear weapons.
You've seen the German cities, you know, put just ordinary weapons.
You can see why we're hanging on and continuing with the decisive action now.
And we'll be reasonable on negotiations.
oil oil oil oil oil oil
they want to conquer not only
Yes.
Boy.
Well, all right.
Don't worry about it.
Don't worry.
What about Amnesty?
What about Amnesty Center?
And he said, well, he said, that's sort of a sticky thing, isn't it?
And I said, yeah, it is, isn't it?
It's quite uptight about the thing that you should be discussing at all.
And he said, well, maybe it was a mistake, but I'm stuck with it.
You know, the one thing that never comes up, I know that there may be a speech on this, which gives the facts,
had read the history of the Civil War.
What Lincoln did was a very, very clever thing.
He was trying to win the war.
So he did grand amnesty, a proclamation of amnesty, for all Southerners who came over to the North.
But for all those that deserted the Northern armies, it was a prison term if they came back.
For example, there was a period
I was about one of Lincoln's days in the White House, sitting there, and he said, a guard came in and said, there's a man at the gate who deserted the U.S. Army and fled Canada.
He's here and is asking for amnesty.
And Lincoln signed a piece of paper and said, fine.
He said, you can have amnesty.
In fact, he serves in prison for the number of days.
other than it deserves this country or this country.
He isn't going to get to say all is forgiven.
You can't have that when some guys, as I say, some men die for their choice and others live with their choice.
Either that or they're going to pay a penalty.
And the penalty has got to be something other than being in the Peace Corps.
And that's going to be tough.
Yeah.
That just shows how strong they feel now.
Strong labor.
I'll try to get to you.
I hope I can get to you.
We're all for you.
Thank you.