Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 781 › Conversation 781-020

Nixon & Nivasabute on Assault and Thailand

Monday, September 18, 1972 · 12:51 PM–12:52 PM ET · Oval Office ·1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Nivasabute, Surayute (Capt.)Conversation781-020 onTape 781StartMonday, September 18, 1972 at 12:51 PMEndMonday, September 18, 1972 at 12:52 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 781-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Captain Surayute Nivasabute to express his and the First Lady’s personal sympathy regarding the recent assault of the Captain’s wife in Washington, D.C. Nixon offered the full support of the White House for any necessary medical or related assistance. He also requested that the Captain relay these well wishes and the news of the President's personal interest to the Thai ambassador.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Now, Captain, I just wanted to tell you that Mrs. Nixon and I were very, very distressed to hear about the terrible assault on your wife, and we sent our best wishes to her, and you can tell her that we only wish we could do more, but we have such a great feeling of affection
And we are so sorry that this had to happen in our capital city.
Well, we can assure that.
And will you tell the ambassador that we called?
And if there's anything we can do, medically or otherwise, you just call the White House.
Very good.
Good luck.
Good wishes to you and to your wife.

NARA Description

On September 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Capt. Surayute Nivasabute met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:51 pm to 12:52 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 781-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 781-20

Date: September 18, 1972
Time: 12:51 pm - 12:52 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Capt. Surayute Nivasabute.

             Best wishes
             -Mrs. Nivasabute
                 -Assault
                     -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
                     -Thailand
                     -Washington, DC
                     -Thai ambassador

Also recorded on September 18, 1972

  • 781-018 12:51 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:51 pm.
  • 781-019 12:51 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:51 pm.
  • 781-021 12:52 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:52 pm and 1:00 pm.
  • 781-022 1:00 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry M. ("Scoop") Jackson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:00 pm to 1:09 pm.
  • 781-023 1:09 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 1:09 pm.
  • 781-024 1:09 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at 1:09 pm.
  • 781-025 1:10 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:10 pm to 1:12 pm.
  • 781-026 1:12 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:25 pm.

All 44 conversations from September 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 781-020, September 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/781-020 (accessed September 18, 2026).