Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 854 › Conversation 854-004

Nixon & Denton on Vietnam War and Prisoners of War

Tuesday, February 13, 1973 · 8:35 AM–8:37 AM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Denton, Jeremiah P. (Mrs.)Conversation854-004 on Tape 854StartTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 8:35 AMEndTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 8:37 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 854-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Mrs. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. to offer his gratitude and support following the imminent return of her husband, a Vietnam prisoner of war. The President praised the resilience of POW families in helping secure an honorable end to the conflict and assured Mrs. Denton that returning servicemen would be reunited with their families as quickly as medical evaluations permitted. Nixon emphasized the importance of the men readjusting to civilian life after their long captivity.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I wanted you to know how very proud we all were when we saw your husband come home and what he said from that point.
And, uh, we're just, uh, yeah.
Well, I said the main thing is that, uh, that all of you, uh, that you, uh, wives and children, the fact that you, uh, you sort of kept the faith that, that made it possible for us to get an honorable end to this war, and that's, that's what, what all mattered.
They didn't, uh, they didn't suffer in vain.
Right?
Well, you just, uh, you, when they get back there now, you,
I remember one of the things I recall was that it was nice to be able to applaud that kid again.
And I think I was in the Pacific.
I mean, it wasn't much, but I remember there was that.
And just real potatoes again.
That was something.
Then the other guy.
So, well, you're going to be there.
Well, that's fine.
I know your children are all right and everything.
Right.
We wish you just the very best.
And you'll be, when do you see him?
About two or three days, you'll be back.
Maybe a week.
I think what they want to do, I think, is to give them a chance to, you know, get a hot bath and get all their physicals and all that sort of thing.
And then, you know, they'll get them home.
But I've issued instructions to keep them just only as long as is necessary.
But you know what?
When we send our men to the moon, we have to, we put them in, you know, try to wash off all that moon dust.
And I guess they want to get all that, get all that North Vietnam dust off of them before they go home.
After seven and a half years, my goodness.
Well, now you make up for it, okay?
That's your line.
Take a nice trip, okay?

NARA Description

On February 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Mrs. Jeremiah P. Denton met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:35 am to 8:37 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 854-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 854-4

Date: February 13, 1973
Time: 8:35 am - 8:37 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Mrs. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 43-58]

Also recorded on February 13, 1973

  • 043-056 8:27 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:33 am.
  • 043-057 8:27 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Robinson Risner talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:33 am.
  • 854-003 8:27 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Robinson Risner met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:33 am.
  • 043-058 8:35 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:35 am to 8:37 am.
  • 043-059 8:37 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 8:47 am.
  • 854-005 8:37 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 8:47 am.
  • 043-060 8:47 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Claudia A. Johnson talked on the telephone from 8:47 am to 8:54 am.
  • 854-006 8:47 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Claudia A. Johnson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:47 am to 8:54 am.

All 55 conversations from February 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 854-004, February 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/854-004 (accessed October 5, 2026).