Snippets of America's history released

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Recorded conversations former President Lyndon Baines Johnson had during crucial moments in American history are now available for the public to listen to. The LBJ Library and Museum released more than 40 hours of conversations that took place between May 1968 and January 1969.

The phone conversations released Thursday cover the difficult times of the Vietnam war, the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy and the transition of power between the LBJ administration and the Nixon administration. There are also lighthearted moments captured in the hours and hours of tape like when LBJ called former President Harry Truman on Christmas Day in 1968.

"I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and tell you that you are loved," Johnson said.

"Thank you very much," Truman said.

"It's been going well for me ever since I met you," Johnson said.

Archiving the Christmas conversation, along with hours of powerful policy-making decisions, is part of a 15-year project completed by the library and museum. Originally, the conversations were recorded on dictabelts before being transferred.

Conversations during LBJ's administration before May 1968 are already available to listen to at the library, but Thursday's release is the final chapter. Daughters Lucy Baines Johnson helped shed light on what was happening at the White House at the time the conversations were recorded.

"You hear it as daddy said it to Harry [Middleton] many years ago when he asked Harry to open the library," said Luci Baines Johnson. "He said, 'I want to see everything but the bark off,' and boy with these tapes, you see it with the bark off."

The conversations are also available to listen to online by going to the library's Web site.