Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 854 › Conversation 854-024

Nixon & Bull on Prisoners of War and Donald Rumsfeld

Tuesday, February 13, 1973 · 12:29 PM–12:35 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation854-024 on Tape 854StartTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 12:29 PMEndTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 12:35 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 854-024 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull to coordinate a logistical plan for sending floral arrangements and personalized messages to the wives and mothers of returning prisoners of war. The discussion also addressed adjustments to the President's upcoming schedule, specifically prioritizing meetings with Donald Rumsfeld regarding his NATO assignment and Richard Helms prior to his departure. Nixon finalized these scheduling priorities, emphasizing the need for photographic records of these personnel transitions.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:29 pm to 12:35 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 854-024 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 854-24

Date: February 13, 1973
Time: 12:29 am - 12:35 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       White House social affairs
             -Corsages
                    -Message
                    -Orchids
                    -Roses
                    -National flower of WM [POWs]
             -Flowers for prisoners of war [POWs] wives and mothers
                    -Clark Air Field
                    -Traus Air Field
                    -Hospital
                    -Cost of sending
                    -Orchids from Hawaii
                    -Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
                    -Roses
                    -Message

       President’s schedule
              -Ronald L. Ziegler
                      -Statement
              -John A. Volpe
              -Meetings with President
                      -Melvin R. Laird
                      -Donald H. Rumsfeld
                             -North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] assignment
                             -Rumsfeld
                      -Laird
                      -Richard M. Helms
                             -Ambassadors
                      -William P. Rogers
                                             -40-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 854-24 (cont’d)

                             -Cuba treaty
                             -Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft
                             -Henry A. Kissinger
                             -Hijacking
                             -Preparation
                      -Scowcroft
                      -Rumsfeld
                      -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                      -Charles W. Colson
                             -Schedule
                      -Haig
                      -Rumsfeld
                      -Helms
                      -Photograph
               -William E. Timmons
               -Scowcroft
                      -Rogers’s interview

Bull left at 12:35 pm.

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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Oh, I think, I have one of the best wishes, but I think, uh, just the present thing's needed.
All right.
Just the present.
That's the next one.
You were, uh, you were suggesting, uh, orchid corsages, and this one is, uh, suggesting maybe a rose might be more perfect.
We don't really have a national flower.
No, no, no.
No, you don't understand, uh, if you work this, uh, up with a rose or not, well, they don't have roses in Hawaii, and, uh, see, I mean, that, well, the way I, uh, see how to make it, uh,
We're going to have flowers for the woman as close to the union as possible.
And they go to Clark Airport, and the other guys go to Clark, and then the Travis and his Priscilla family, and then they go to the hospital.
And we wanted to hit the woman at the time of the man's going out to the hospital.
So they could be sent from the States, unless there was a particular reason to have the flowers sent from Hawaii.
It costs about $1,000.
So the Ark of Kersak is from Hawaii?
I directed it last night, so I'm just guessing.
Yeah, that's right.
And do you get the thing from BD to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to D to
I rose to our side share with any decent ones that cost about $20, $25, $30.
They all appreciate our result.
No, that's not true.
I checked with B, and I see that he checks on it on what the size and so forth is so that they do it adequately.
All right, sir.
He has checks in the tub.
And this morning, you mentioned this.
That's where I prefer to see it.
I prefer to have it come.
That's going to fail from there.
They've got to send a message out with all the names.
The Y is under this degree.
Wives or foremothers.
Wife or mother.
If they have a wife, it's the wife.
If they don't have a wife, it's the mother.
We're already working on this.
That's what we need to be done.
I wonder if it's Ron Ziegler.
He wasn't reading this book.
He wanted to get something.
He wanted to state that he wanted to clear things.
The only other two that I see that we have left right now are Larry and Rumsfeld.
Larry and Rumsfeld.
See what?
Well, I don't know.
I don't want.
Yes sir, and I was wondering whether it's really appropriate.
I think .
I don't know if he needs to see Brumstone.
No, I want to see Brumstone because he's going to NATO and I should talk to him before he goes.
Is he around today?
We're changing his programs now for today.
It's no great problem, but I should talk to him just to give him a little feel of his NATO assignment before he goes.
Yes sir.
I don't need to see him because we've already, unless he's, if he asks, by all means, I'd like to, but I didn't.
I just wanted to be sure.
There's been no requests.
We'll have some, what else did we have there?
A lot of other people that started, I don't know if you want to see Helms again before he leaves.
I think he started some of all the ambassadors.
Yes, I want to see it.
I do want to see it.
And what about this meeting with Rogers?
Is that still working?
Most of what it really comes down to is that the principal and the same people want us to say, hey, the problem is not focused adequately on the human treatment.
And that's why we're not adequately prepared.
Brent Scobaroff didn't enable
Another one that I would like to see here running
You might see if Al Haig is having lunch or anything.
I don't want to bother him.
But if he's not, you can see maybe when I'll see if he can come home around 3 o'clock.
Do you know of any of the Colson's that you saw in the story?
I just couldn't really worry about it.
No, I'd have to see it before he leaves late tonight, but it's not even on the schedule.
But see if you could put a peg on it.
And I can see Rumsfeld tomorrow morning, so you can look at it in the morning period with Helms in the day, and Helms in the morning too, of course.
I'd like to picture both of those, those totally fresh pictures.
Good.
Anything else?
No, sir.
No.
No, he hasn't.
No, he hasn't mentioned it.
He usually does right away.
He went out the other day.
I'll see where he is.
I need to talk to him.
He is.
But, I mean, don't call him at lunch.
There's no urgency.
I want to talk about the Rogers Center.

Also recorded on February 13, 1973

  • 854-022 12:25 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:25 pm to 12:26 pm.
  • 854-023 12:26 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 12:28 pm.
  • 854-025 12:35 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:35 pm and 12:38 pm.
  • 854-026 12:38 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:38 pm to 12:43 pm.
  • 854-027 12:43 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm.
  • 854-028 12:45 PM · 52 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:45 pm to 12:46 pm.
  • 854-029 12:46 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:46 pm and 12:55 pm.
  • 854-030 12:46 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:46 pm and 12:55 pm.

All 55 conversations from February 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 854-024, 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/854-024 (accessed November 15, 2026).