Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 829 › Conversation 829-032

Nixon & Bull on Harry S. Truman and Memorial service

Tuesday, January 2, 1973 · 11:46 AM–11:50 AM ET · Oval Office · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation829-032 on Tape 829StartTuesday, January 2, 1973 at 11:46 AMEndTuesday, January 2, 1973 at 11:50 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 829-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull discussed logistical arrangements for the upcoming memorial service for Harry S. Truman, focusing specifically on diplomatic protocol and reception requirements. Nixon expressed skepticism toward Henry Kissinger's recommendation for a broader diplomatic reception, ultimately deciding to limit his personal involvement to meetings with visiting heads of state to avoid an unmanageable guest list. They also briefly touched upon scheduling a separate meeting regarding wage and price controls with congressional leaders, including Mike Mansfield and William Proxmire.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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I mean, this is not a funeral.
It's a memorial service.
Would you want to meet with this leadership group prior to meeting with the Mansfields or Calgary?
I was just like, I don't know, I'll work it out myself.
And this, the plans for this should go forward, and that would be kind of the other thing.
The plan is for a tuition-price literacy, like Marcia was saying.
Would you be receptive to the idea of expanding it to, I don't care how big of a name it is, I'm sure it's been, to the free organization, finding two courses, and that would probably save
some of your time for the long run, as long as they're going to be able to tackle that issue.
Make it 830.
All right.
Do you want to see the people who have been invited?
This does include Proxmire and
I'm talking with Nick Rui on the phone right now regarding some of the numbers there.
Give us a way of saying, well, there are different ways of looking at it.
You see, all Washington masses, I'm afraid, are going to be appointed to represent some countries.
So if you have the darn perception, why don't we ask you this?
How many people who have traveled from abroad have asked you,
asked the State Department if it could be arranged so that we gave something for only those who were attending the general and traveling abroad.
That was going to be, that's what I was going to take up with Nick.
There were approximately 16 of those right now.
That's all there was.
What our concern was, was that if we had a reception for some of the resident ambassadors of all the countries, they all started pointing
Right now, that's all we have.
If you wanted to have a reception for those 16 or 17 people, probably get up to about 20, 22 by the time Friday rolls around.
that the State Department can host something of an entire diplomatic corps, including those people, those ambassadors who have been designated as official representatives.
We could even have Rui seat those people together with the diplomatic corps, and then that solves that problem.
And then you just handle the visitors from out of the country.
Are we going to reject the entire thing and consider it a memorial service?
Let them go ahead with their plans to save the Vice President and Secretary of State hosting it.
To save the plan the way they're setting it up right now.
Let's put it in the state to begin with.
It's because of the low order of people that are coming.
So I will not be the receptionist.
The protocol department over there, I don't know how much staff you want to replace in the room.
I was very greatly surprised that Kissinger came in with the recognition to have any sort of reception for him.
That's what I thought.
Kissinger is always a damn rocker.
I thought he was inappropriate.
He's fine with the state of mind, but that's not what the whole point is.
The point is that I'm just afraid I'm going to get too many names.
I want you to go back into the...
I just cannot expand beyond these heads of state.
You see what I mean?
I said it.
Yeah.
All right.
I'll find out.
You see, I'm not going to go to the board of ministers.
That's the point, Steve.
That's what they've done to get through the day.
Give me a list of the board of ministers.
I have to go down here.

NARA Description

On January 2, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:46 am and 11:50 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 829-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 829-32

Date: January 2, 1973
Time: Unknown between 11:46 am and 11:50 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       Truman’s memorial service
           -Timing
           -Meeting with heads of state
                 -Timing

       Meeting on wage and price controls
            -Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
                                                -37-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 829-32 (cont’d)

             -Timing
             -Attendees
                   -William Proxmire

       Truman’s memorial service
           -Diplomatic reception
                 -L. Nicholas (“Nick”) Ruwe
                 -Attendees
                 -State Department
                 -Diplomatic corps
                 -Designated ambassadors
           -Alternatives
                 -Spiro Agnew
                 -William P. Rogers
           -Diplomatic reception
                 -State Department
                 -Protocol
                        -Ruwe
                 -Henry A. Kissinger's recommendation
                 -List of foreign visitors
                        -Attendees

Bull left at an unknown time before 11:50 am.

Also recorded on January 2, 1973

  • 035-055 10:20 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 10:20 am to 10:21 am.
  • 035-056 10:21 AM · 57 sec — Charles W. Colson, White House operator, unknown person(s), Rose Mary Woods, Gerald L. Warren, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:21 am and 11:20 am.
  • 829-031 11:28 AM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Rose Mary Woods, and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:28 am to 11:46 am.
  • 829-033 11:50 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 12:00 pm.
  • 829-034 12:00 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 pm and 12:13 pm.
  • 829-035 12:13 PM · 43 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Timmons, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:13 pm to 12:56 pm.
  • 829-036 12:56 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:56 pm and 1:00 pm.
  • 829-037 1:00 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:00 pm to 1:14 pm.

All 52 conversations from January 2, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 829-032, January 2, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/829-032 (accessed October 2, 2026).