Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 854 › Conversation 854-014

Nixon & Mulligan on Vietnam War and Prisoners of War

Tuesday, February 13, 1973 · 9:34 AM–9:41 AM ET · Oval Office · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mulligan, James A., Jr. (Mrs.)Conversation854-014 on Tape 854StartTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 9:34 AMEndTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 9:41 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 854-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Mrs. James A. Mulligan, Jr. to express his gratitude for the support and faith provided by the families of prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict. The President praised the recent public statements made by returning servicemen, including Mrs. Mulligan's husband, and emphasized that their sacrifices were instrumental in achieving peace in the region. Nixon reaffirmed his commitment to the ongoing prisoner release schedule and expressed optimism regarding the future stability of South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Hello?
Hello?
Mr. Mulligan, I'm just lucky to know how proud we were of all the men that came out, but particularly of your husband.
He made a very fine, eloquent statement.
And we're so glad that he's
The people here, I said, without the unwavering faith of their wives and their children and so forth, we could not have achieved what we have.
In other words, I know how much all of you have been true and we're most grateful for what you've done for the country as well as for what they've done.
Good, good.
Okay, you're ready.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, you know that that's the way it is.
I mean, there are lots of families.
And every kid has got to know that there's a life.
It's the way they are.
Sure, sure.
Well, that's great.
They're all great, but I was impressed by him.
Also, the Colonel, they're really a great bunch of men.
Reiser, yes?
Well, let me say this.
I can remember those years.
I mean, going back to a little meeting in the library and some of the, you know, they, you know, turned out to be wise, you know, anyways.
You were there the first one, Merchant.
And then, you know, all the dinners after that.
The last one, I think, was the Sandler.
But I always remember when I'd go there, I'd always say, well, don't lose faith.
You never did.
I didn't look as great, but I just don't see how you used to believe me.
The fact that you used the fact that we had your backing really made a difference.
A question that everybody does.
But what I had is, we could have so easily joined, you know, just gotten out and said, look, get a badge.
I don't care what you do.
Of course, we tried.
We wouldn't have gotten the badge.
You see that, you know, how these people are.
We had to do what we did in order to get them to be sensible.
But thank God it's done.
Everybody else gets back before they change their minds.
If they change their mind, we'll know what to do anyway.
It's going to go forward on schedule.
You notice the 27 came out of, had their little hassle out of South Vietnam yesterday.
And the others are on schedule.
We'll be on schedule.
And of course, the very fact that they are aware that we expect them to, we're going to hold them to it, is going to make them do it.
Because we, that's our club, Michigan.
And so we don't want to use it.
Nobody likes to use strong means, but we found that's about the only thing that works with these people.
But the main thing now is that I told Colonel Reisner that these men, the men who died, the men who were killed, they're just not, and all of them served, not a minute in vain.
So that's why we, we just, we, and I really think that we have a good chance.
South Vietnam, particularly, and possibly Cambodia and Laos will now be able to grow up in peace.
And even North Vietnam, we would prefer that what remains there of their people, they should live with their neighbors in peace.
If that happens, it's all worthwhile.
And if the South Vietnamese can have peace without communism,
then it's really worthwhile because anybody who's been to a communist country must be a patriot, you know, and to any kind of a country with any degree of freedom knows what the difference is.
Yeah.
Yes.
Well, anyway, I like what he said about faith in God and faith in this country, and obviously I would add faith in his family.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, anyway, I'm glad we're not going to have any more meetings.
But we will expect after everybody is in all this rest and everything like, we want to get you and your husband down some time and get along with some of the others.
Just saying in person.
Okay.
No worries, no worries.
As a matter of fact, you brought one up on YouTube, someone that you met before you did.
That's right.
That's right.
Ted, you oughta, you oughta, you oughta point out that Kissinger's a very eligible bachelor, too.
Yeah.
You...
Right, but... You tell your husband that I warned you that, you know, that Kissinger was not to be trusted with anybody, huh?
Not to be trusted with anybody except the Northeastern meetings.
How's that?
Alright, fine.
Okay.

NARA Description

On February 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Mrs. James A. Mulligan, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:34 am to 9:41 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 854-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 854-14

Date: February 13, 1973
Time: 9:34 am - 9:41 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Mrs. James A. Mulligan, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 43-62]

Also recorded on February 13, 1973

  • 854-009 9:15 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:15 am and 9:34 am.
  • 854-010 9:15 AM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:15 am and 9:34 am.
  • 854-011 9:15 AM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:15 am and 9:34 am.
  • 043-062 9:34 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Mrs. James Mulligan talked on the telephone from 9:34 am to 9:41 am.
  • 854-015 9:41 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:41 am and 9:48 am.
  • 854-016 9:41 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:41 am and 9:48 am.
  • 854-038 9:41 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:41 am and 9:48 am.
  • 854-017 9:48 AM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:48 am to 10:52 am.

All 55 conversations from February 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 854-014, 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/854-014 (accessed October 1, 2026).