PresLaw

When Elvis Met Nixon: The Documents (Part Three) - Meeting Agenda

2014-01-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Egil Krogh

This memorandum, hastily compiled by Nixon aide, Egil Krogh, to present to the President essentially constituted a possible meeting agenda between President Nixon and Elvis.

As with Dwight Chapin and H. R. Hadelman, who were also involved in the Nixon meeting, Krogh was also ultimately imprisoned for his role in the Watergate scandal.

Ironically, at the time of writing, Krogh currently serves as Senior Fellow on Ethics and Leadership at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and Counselor to the Director at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership.

Of note in the agenda are points III.E.3 and III.E.4, which suggest discussing the creation of a Rock Musical and Elvis album entitled "Get High on Life." Not one of Krogh's better ideas, I think!
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Medical Examiner's Report (Autopsy) on the Death of Elvis Presley

2013-11-22T14:53:00.001-08:00

Below is a PDF copy of the the medical examiner's report that was carried out on Elvis after his death. This 2-page report was signed and submitted by the Shelby County Medical Examiner, Dr. Jerry Francisco.

The cause of death noted on this report was "H.C.V.D. associated with ASHD" which refers to "Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease associated with Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease."

Note, as clarified on the Elvis Decoded blog, this report is NOT the official autopsy report, which is the private property of the Presley family. Also, this is not the official death certificate, which, under Tennessee law will be kept private for 50 years after Elvis' death and will therefore be made public in 2027.
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When Elvis Met Nixon: The Documents (Part Two) -The Chapin Memo

2013-11-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

Dwight Chapin

Overview: This memo was written by White House aide, Dwight Chapin, to H. R. Hadelman (White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon), on December 21, 1970. In the memo, Chapin describes the purpose of Elvis' visit, 'to become a "Federal agent at large" to work against the drug problem by communicating with people of all ages.'

He then offers his suggestions as to how the meeting should take place and is clearly in favor of Elvis meeting with the President rather than fobbing him off with the Vice President.

H. R. Hadelman

The memo ends with Chapin's comment: 'In addition, if the President wants to meet with some bright young people outside of the Governent, Presley might be a perfect one to start with.' In handwriting by this comment, author unknown, are the words "You must be kidding." So I guess someone at the White House, perhaps Hadelman, wasn't quite so convinced of the benefits of having President Nixon meet with Elvis!

Note: Both Dwight Chapin and H. R. Hadelman were heavily involved in the subsequent Watergate scandal. Chapin was convicted and served nine months in prison as a result. Later in his career, Chapin worked for both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Hadelman resigned as a result of the scandal and was later convicted and served 18 months in prison. On release, Hadelmen worked as a private businessman and died of cancer in 1993.
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When Elvis Met Nixon: The Documents (Part One) - Elvis' Letter to President Nixon

2013-11-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Overview: On December 21, 1970, Elvis visited President Richard Nixon at the White House in Washington, D.C. This meeting was initiated by Elvis when he wrote a 6-page letter to the President on American Airlines stationery, while on a red-eye flight to Washington, D.C. In this letter Elvis suggested that he be made a "Federal Agent-at-Large".

The letter was delivered by hand at an entrance gate to the Whitehouse at 6:30am. This letter was then delivered to Egil "Bud" Krogh, one of the President's aides, who was also an Elvis fan.

Krogh was instrumental in making the meeting happen and, with official approval, phoned the Washington Hotel, where Elvis was staying, and arranged the meeting with Elvis' staff member, Jerry Schilling.
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The Elvis Presley FBI Files: Part 2 of 12

2013-11-07T09:37:00.003-08:00

This is the second set of papers released from the FBI vault that involve Elvis containing 663 pages in total.

The first 51 pages are available in part one of this series. This set contains the next 25 pages of documents. Click here to see all of the FBI Files documents currently posted on PresLaw.info.

This set includes details regarding harassing phone calls, a letter to J. Edgar Hoover disapproving of Elvis (see Selected Highlights below), details of an extortion attempt, details of a threatened kidnap while Elvis was performing in Las Vegas as well as details of a death threat against Elvis.
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Elvis Presley: Official Army Documents

2013-11-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

Elvis was inducted into the U.S. Army in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 24, 1958. He then spent three days at the Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Reception Station.

After nearly 3 years of service, he left active duty on March 5, 1960 while at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He received his formal discharge from the Army Reserve on March 23, 1964.

While serving in the Army, Elvis was a member of Company A, 2d Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor between March 28-September 17, 1958 and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. This is where he completed both his basic and advanced military training.

From October 1, 1958-March 2, 1960, Elvis was a member of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 3d Armor, based in Germany, mostly in the battalion's Headquarters Company in Friedberg, Germany.

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When Elvis Met Nixon: The Photographs

2013-11-01T23:57:00.001-07:00

Overview: These photographs were taken by an official White House photographer when Elvis met with President Nixon in the Oval Office on Dec 21, 1970.

For the full background story, see When Elvis Met Nixon on the Smithsonian web site and When Nixon Met Elvis on the National Archives web site.
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The Elvis Presley FBI Files: Part 1 of 12

2013-10-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

This is the first set of papers released from the FBI vault that involve Elvis.

Though Elvis wasn't actually investigated by the FBI, he appears in several of their files, covering the years 1956-1980. These files contain information regarding extortion attempts that targeted Elvis (which were investigated by the FBI), correspondence from members of the public expressing concern over Elvis' stage performances and music (which make fascinating reading towards the end of the PDF file!), as well as letters related to Elvis' wish to meet J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the FBI.

In total, there are 663 pages of documents. This first set contains 51 pages.
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Last Will and Testament of Elvis A. Presley

2013-10-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of the text of Elvis' last will and testament.

Click here to Buy a copy of Elvis' Will for only $1.00

Last Will And Testament Of Elvis A. Presley, Deceased

Filed August 22, 1977

Last Will And Testament of Elvis Presley

I, Elvis A. Presley, a resident and citizen of Shelby County, Tennessee, being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this instrument to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking any and all wills and codicils by me at any time heretofore made.
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