Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 786 › Conversation 786-013
Nixon, Spirtos & Tsaffaras on AHEPA and Greece
Monday, September 25, 1972 · 11:49 AM–11:58 AM ET · Oval Office · 9 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with a delegation from the Order of American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) to accept a commemorative gold medal marking the organization's 50th anniversary. During the brief visit, the group participated in a photo session, and the President shared personal reflections on his 1947 trip to Greece and the resilience of the Greek people. The meeting concluded with an exchange of gifts, as Nixon presented the delegation members with silver medals and presidential cuff links.
- AHEPA
- Greece
- Presidential gifts
- Public relations
- 1947 visit
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Mr. President, Mr. Curtis.
How are you?
Good to see you.
Good to see you.
Right.
Good, good, good.
You've got your whole delegation here, right?
Yes.
Let's get a group photograph first, John.
Let me see.
Why don't we break them on either side of me this way?
That's right.
So we look.
Let's look out.
Excuse me a second.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
I got it, sir.
Good, good.
You've got groups.
We'll give each of you a copy of this.
You've got a good one for everybody.
There might be a presentation.
Oh, yeah, let's get that, too.
This is the gold medal.
For 50 years.
We have to remember this in the offices.
We'd like to present this with the presence of the American Marines.
All right.
Well, I don't need to tell you that, uh, that, uh, how strong we feel about it.
So, so, uh, great background.
You're okay.
It's, uh, it's, uh, it's, uh, five and a half.
Yeah, five and a half.
I don't know if these folks aren't Alaskan.
But when I find some of these boys and gentlemen, usually he's got a brief background.
Or a little bit of Italian.
The only thing you've got to do is to shorten those names.
The only names that aren't Polish names.
This is what we will do.
We'll put this in the presidential library.
I don't know if these will be properly displayed.
I don't know if they think of 50 years and what has happened.
I don't know.
I was so much better at 50 than I am at 50.
Hey, listen, 50 is the best years of your life.
Nine years ago, I became 50.
Sir, I'm going to write a World War I issue.
And I'm going to give you a story of a church without a country, a world without a country, not what Greece has been through.
They've had so much problems and so forth.
But the main thing about the Greeks, it doesn't make any difference what their government is.
I mean, it does, of course.
Everybody has a choice.
The Greek people are so strong.
And they were doing great.
The people's economy is going on again.
That's right.
Well, they're producing.
They're working.
They're strong.
I mean, that's something that impresses me.
I always look beyond governments and people.
It's the people that matter.
All Americans are being better than I am.
Of course, they take very political places.
I was in Greece in 1947.
That was the time when there was a terrible fight between the communists.
We were up there in the border.
Basically, they were supporting the king.
Actually, we were supporting it.
I was in that grant .
And there was a young state department .
And we were chatting about it.
It was about 5 o'clock in the afternoon.
And I said, no, let me think.
They said, well, the Greek snake will come.
I said, no, never.
He said, no, never.
He said, let me show you why.
He took me to the window.
We stepped out of the balcony there and looked out in the square.
And out there, there were perhaps
There's a thousand people in that square sitting around having coffee and arguing all day.
They said whenever you get a thousand people you get a thousand different opinions.
They'll never go past that.
It's the individuality which is the strength, the strength in this country to liberty-loving people.
You love, that's right, and so you'll fight and argue and this and that and the other thing.
Boy, they're gutsy people.
As the president, I have a couple of silver medals that I'd like to present to our two friends.
Good.
Good.
Permission?
Sure, sure.
I mean, they get silver.
It's great.
Hard work, sir.
Thank you.
Bill Rogers spoke at your class meeting.
Yeah.
I asked him to do it.
We wanted to make it non-political.
Now that's a good artist.
Now, for you to distinguish, now, let me cut the presidential couplets.
These are the seal of the flag.
Thank you very much.
This is the presidential seal.
Did you see that?
Yes.
There.
There it is.
Thank you.
Oh, your daughter.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President.
They did something wrong.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
NARA Description
On September 25, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Michael N. Spirtos, William P. Tsaffaras, William G. Chirgotis, Gustav Coffinas, George J. Leber, Thomas C. Korologos, S. Steven Karalekas, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:49 am to 11:58 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 786-013 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 786-13
Date: September 25, 1972
Time: 11:49 am - 11:58 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Michael N. Spirtos, William P. Tsaffaras, William G. Chirgotis, Gustav
Coffinas, George J. Leber, Thomas C. Korologos, S. Steven Karalekas. Stephen B. Bull and the
White House photographer were present at the beginning of the meeting.
Greetings and introductions
-California
-New Jersey
-Brooklyn, New York
Photograph session
-Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins
-Photograph copies
Presentation of medal to the President
-50th Anniversary of Order of American Hellenic Educational Progressive
Association [AHEPA]
-Greek backgrounds
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
-White House staff
-Korologos, Karalekas
Greek names
Polish names
Display of medal
-Presidential library
World War I
-Winston S. Churchill
Greece
-Government
-People
-Economy
-The President’s 1947 trip
-Communist insurgency
-King of Greece [George II]
-Greece-Turkey aid bill
-Grand Bretagne hotel
-State Department official’s prediction
-Democracy
Silver medal presentations
-Korologos, [Keralekas]
William P. Rogers schedule
-Previous meeting with AHEPA
Presentation of gifts by the President
-Cuff links
-Presidential seal
-Pins
AHEPA headquarters
-Washington, DC
-K Street
1972 campaign
Spirtos et al. left at 11:58 am.Also recorded on September 25, 1972
- 786-012 11:47 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:47 am and 11:49 am.
- 786-014 11:58 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:58 am to 12:03 pm.
- 786-015 12:03 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:03 pm and 12:05 pm.
- 105-007 12:05 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Clark MacGregor, Maurice Stans, and members of the Finance Committee of the Committee to Re-elect the President, including Clark MacGregor, Maurice H. Stans, Joyce Barbour, Paul E. Barrick, Mildred Bighinatti, Suzanne Bourbonnais, Beebe Bourne, Judy Breck, Angela Buchanan, Warren Chase, Buckley M. Byers, Arden Chambers, Constance Corby, Kathy Cerick, Jane Dannenhauer, John Russell Deane, III, Whitney de Roulet, Charles Dexter, Maureen Devlin, Yolanda Dorminy, Stanley Ebner, Thomas W. Evans, Peter J. Fokine, Elaine Hall, Judy Harbaugh, Judy Hoback, Robert Hardy, Daniel W. Hofgren, Peter A. Holmes, Carroll Holton, Christine A. Hristakos, Eveline Hyde, Erik Kuhl, Joan Kreitler, George Lynch, Charlotte Lyeth, Michael Miller, Robert L. Krattli, Karen Minor, Lee R. Nunn, Robert P. Odell, Jr., M. Elaine O'Gorman, Thomas A. Pappas, Charles ("Chip") Pashayan, Jr., Lois Rezabek, Lora Rossi, Harold B. Scott, Michael Scully, Rodney Smith, Shirley A. Straker, Kenneth K. Talmadge, Florence Thompson, Diane K. Waltman, C. Langhorne Washburn, John Tayloe Washburn, Newell P. Weed, Jr., and Barbara Zapp, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 12:05 pm to 12:18 pm.
- 105-008 12:18 PM — Unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 12:18 pm on September 25, 1972 and 11:03 am on September 29, 1972.
- 786-016 12:18 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:18 pm and 12:22 pm.
- 786-017 12:18 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:18 pm and 12:22 pm.
- 786-018 12:22 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:22 pm to 12:32 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 786-013, September 25, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/786-013 (accessed October 12, 2026).