{"conversationCode":"876-012","tapeNumber":876,"conversationNumber":12,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-876-012","startDateTime":"1973-03-12T21:24:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-03-12T23:34:00.000Z","startDate":"12-Mar-1973","startTime":"4:24 PM","endDate":"12-Mar-1973","endTime":"6:34 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.;","description":"On March 12, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 876-012 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":"5.4","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part IV","chronReleaseDate":"8-Dec-2010","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 876-12\nDate: March 12, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Stephen B. Bull.\n\n       Schedule\n            -Signature\n                  -Disaster assistance for Texas [?]\n            -Telephone call from Julie Nixon Eisenhower\n\n       President's meetings with Prisoners of war [POWs]\n\nBull left at an unknown time before 6:34 pm.\n\f                                            -61-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                              Conversation No. 876-13/877-1\n\nDate: March 12, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Capt. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. Stephen B. Bull and the White House\nphotographer were present at the beginning of the meeting.\n\n       Photo session\n            -Flags\n            -Seating\n\n       Legislation\n             -President’s signature\n\nManolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:24 pm.\n\n       Sanchez\n            -Return to Cuba\n            -Visit to North Vietnam\n\n       Refreshments\n\nSanchez left at an unknown time before 6:34 pm.\n\n       Oval Office\n            -Previous visits\n            -White House tour\n\n       Denton\n            -Public statement\n                  -Effect on nation\n            -Letter to President\n                  -Publication\n                         -Respect for privacy\n            -Experience as Prisoner of war [POW]\n            -Plans for White House dinner for POWs\n\f                                      -62-\n\n            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)\n\n           -Wives\n           -Discussions\n     -Reaction\n           -Repatriation\n     -Captivity\n           -Length\n\nPresident's conversation with Col. Robinson Risner\n      -Honorable conclusion to war\n             -Reasons\n                  -POWs\n                  -Fate of South Vietnam’s people\n                        -War casualties\n                  -US credibility\n                        -People's Republic of China [PRC], Union of Soviet Socialist\n                         Republics [USSR]\n\nPresident's trip to PRC\n      -Peking\n      -Meeting with Chou En-lai\n             -“Handshake around the world”\n      -State dinner\n                    -Reputation as anti-Communist\n\nVietnam\n     -Honorable conclusion to war\n          -South Vietnam’s integrity\n          -US credibility\n          -President’s advisors\n                -Withdrawal\n                      -1969\n                      -John F. Kennedy’s, Lyndon B. Johnson’s responsibility\n          -President’s November 3, 1969 speech\n                -US defeat\n                      -Loss of power, pride\n          -US as great power\n                -Compared to France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, USSR, PRC\n          -US self-image\n\f                                               -63-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                       Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)\n\nBull entered at an unknown time after 4:24 pm.\n\n       Schedule\n            -Buzzer\n\nBull left at an unknown time before 6:34 pm.\n\n       Denton’s letter to President\n            -Effect on nation\n            -American spirit\n\n       POWs\n          -Ordeal in prison\n               -Mohandus K. [Mahatma] Gandhi, Dr. Achmed Sukarno, Radha Krishna [?]\n               -Significance\n               -Personal strength\n                      -Adversity\n          -Meaning for US\n               -Sense of pride\n               -Sense of shame\n                      -Retreat\n          -Denton's captivity\n               -Survival\n                      -Reasons\n               -Solitary confinement\n                      -Length\n               -Means of survival\n                      -Curiosity\n                      -Mental, physical activity\n                      -Awareness of time\n                      -Prayer\n                      -Solidarity [?]\n          -Reception at White House\n               -Scheduling\n               -Plans\n                      -President’s meeting with Risner\n                      -Briefing on national security\n                            -State Department\n                            -Wives\n\f                                       -64-\n\n            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                 Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)\n\n                  -Henry A. Kissinger, President, William P. Rogers\n                        -Changes in world\n                  -Dinner on White House lawn\n                        -Tent\n                              -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon\n                        -Greeting\n                              -Blue Room\n                        -Dress\n                              -Long dresses\n                              -Uniforms\n                        -Arrangements\n                  -Entertainment\n                        -Television [TV]\n                        -Leslie T. (“Bob”) Hope\n                        -Other celebrities\n                        -Les Brown Orchestra\n                        -Dancing\n      -Captivity\n            -Treatment\n            -Torture\n            -Risner\n                  -Exercise\n                  -Notoriety\n                  -Isolation\n            -Denton’s leadership [?]\n                  -Communication\n                  -Isolation [?]\n            -Communications\n                  -System\n                  -Tapping on walls\n                        -Code\n                  -Dangers\n                  -Coughing\n                        -Code\n\nPresident's foreign policy\n      -Denton's support\n      -US history\n      -Benefits for nation, world\n\f                                            -65-\n\n                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                      Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)\n\n            -Opening to PRC\n            -US aid to North Vietnam\n                 -POWs’ support\n                 -Reasons\n                        -Opposition to PRC, USSR\n                              -Influence in Hanoi\n                                     -Communist revolution\n                        -US restraint\n                        -Situation in Laos\n                              -Condition for withdrawal\n                              -Cease-fire violations\n                                     -Condition for adherence\n                        -World War II precedent\n                              -Differences\n                                     -Japan, Germany\n                                           -Regime change\n                                           -Economic pursuits\n                                           -Peaceful pursuits\n                 -Questionable effectiveness\n                        -Alternatives\n                              -Bombing\n                                     -North Vietnam’s impressions of President\n            -December 1972 bombing\n                 -Difficulty\n                        -Compared to Denton’s captivity\n                              -Survival\n                                     -Impression of irrationality\n                 -Liberal critics\n                        -[Arnold] Eric Sevareid, Washington Post\n                        -Questions about President's sanity\n                              -“Mad bomber”\n\nThe conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 6:34 pm. The conversation continues on\na subsequent tape [Oval Office Tape 877-1].","filename":["876-012.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Bull, Stephen B."],"prevCode":"876-011","nextCode":"876-013","transcript":[{"start":26.64,"end":27.92,"text":"You know where he is?"}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to review his daily schedule and manage routine administrative tasks, including signing disaster assistance documents for Texas. The two discussed a scheduled telephone call from Julie Nixon Eisenhower and logistics regarding the President’s upcoming meetings with returning Prisoners of War. No major policy shifts occurred, as the session focused primarily on managing the President's public engagements and correspondence.","topics":["Schedule management","Prisoners of war","Disaster assistance","Julie Nixon Eisenhower","White House operations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-08T22:57:11.130Z"},"topicSlugs":["schedule-management","prisoners-of-war","disaster-assistance","julie-nixon-eisenhower","white-house-operations"],"audioDurationSec":53,"audioFiles":[{"file":"876-012.mp3","bytes":319488,"durationSec":53.28,"bitrate":47971,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:00.697Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:53.052Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/876-012.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/876-012","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/876/conversation-876-012","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}