Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 861 › Conversation 861-018

Nixon & Scowcroft on Prisoners of War and Vietnam War

Thursday, February 22, 1973 · 12:44 PM–12:46 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Scowcroft, Brent G. (Gen.)Conversation861-018 on Tape 861StartThursday, February 22, 1973 at 12:44 PMEndThursday, February 22, 1973 at 12:46 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 861-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and General Brent Scowcroft discussed the positive reception to Scowcroft’s outreach calls to recently released prisoners of war (POWs) and their families. They addressed concerns regarding allegations that POW statements were government-programmed, with Scowcroft citing Defense Department official Roger Shields to refute these claims as unfounded. The two concluded that the public remained supportive of the administration's policy and that negative reports regarding the POWs were failing to gain traction.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Well, I just wanted to ask you how you called and hit those two people.
Yes, sir, I did.
And they were very pleased.
And of course, this is when it was almost unhinged, since he was so delighted.
Apparently, the wife, there's a divorce apparently.
There's a divorce, that's right.
Well, it was very strong.
He wanted you to know that the expressions of the POWs you had in your mouth were right in the heart.
And that his brothers know the same way.
And that he wants you to know that Grassroots America was behind this whole thing.
He was on this road.
There's other characters.
My, my.
OK, the
He said it's going very well.
And, you know, there was a news report that some of their statements had been programmed.
I mean, it's a wide inquiry.
Roger Shields, who was a D&D man out there, he said it's absolutely not true.
He said they knew what they wanted to say before I even talked to the head of the government.
Why?
Because they all decided they're willing to say
I don't think those reports are getting off the ground.
I don't think people believe that.
I don't think so.
I don't think they'll be the first to deny it.
So the brother around the park, I mentioned the wife, drew me up the wall, wasn't she?
Oh, I mean, so she was just, she was on the line, and her voice was breaking, and she was very, very good.
He's free now.
He can come in as he frees the other one.
He hasn't come yet, but he's free to come.
He's dressed upon.

NARA Description

On February 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:44 pm to 12:46 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 861-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 861-18

Date: February 22, 1973
Time: 12:44 pm - 12:46 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft.

       Scowcroft's calls to Prisoners of War [POWs]
             -Reaction to call
                      -Mrs. Landon, Mrs. Holmes [?]
             -POWs
             -Support for President
             -Adjustment to freedom

       POW statements
             -Press charges
             -Roger Shields
                     -Defense Department
                     -POW statements
             -Public reception

       POW wife
            -Reaction to call

       The President's meeting with Henry A. Kissinger

Scowcroft left at 12:46 pm.

Also recorded on February 22, 1973

  • 861-021 12:21 PM · 35 sec — Stephen B. Bull and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:21 pm and 12:23 pm.
  • 861-015 12:23 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Walter E. Washington, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., Frank Frazier, William Bullock, Portial Bullock, Wilhelmina Thomas, Joseph Bullock, Mrs. Joseph Bullock, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:23 pm to 12:32 pm.
  • 861-016 12:33 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:33 pm to 12:42 pm.
  • 861-017 12:42 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:42 pm and 12:44 pm.
  • 861-019 12:46 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Timmons, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:46 pm to 1:08 pm.
  • 861-020 1:08 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 043-166 1:12 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 2:22 pm.
  • 411-010 1:12 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:22 pm.

All 52 conversations from February 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 861-018, February 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/861-018 (accessed October 1, 2026).