Editing Alexander Haig (section)

==Early military career==
===Korean War===
As a young officer, Haig served as an aide to Lieutenant General [[Alonzo Patrick Fox]], a deputy chief of staff to General [[Douglas MacArthur]]. In 1950 Haig married Fox's daughter, Patricia.<ref name = Weiner/> In the early days of the [[Korean War]], Haig was responsible for maintaining General MacArthur's situation map and briefing MacArthur each evening on the day's battlefield events.<ref name="hc">{{cite web|url=http://www.historycentral.com/Documents/HaigKorea.html|title=Lessons of the forgotten war | author=Alexander M. Haig Jr.}}</ref> Haig later served (1950–51) with the [[X Corps (United States)|X Corps]], as aide to MacArthur's chief of staff, General [[Edward Almond]],<ref name="speakers" /> who awarded Haig two Silver Stars and a [[Bronze Star]] with [[Valor device]].<ref name="ut">{{cite web|url=https://my.tennessee.edu/portal/page?_pageid=91,55081&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |title=UT Biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511090202/https://my.tennessee.edu/portal/page?_pageid=91%2C55081&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |archive-date=May 11, 2013 }}</ref> Haig participated in four [[Korean War]] campaigns, including the [[Battle of Inchon]], the [[Battle of Chosin Reservoir]] and the [[Hungnam evacuation|evacuation of Hŭngnam]],<ref name="hc"/> as Almond's aide.

===Pentagon assignments===
Haig served as a staff officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] (1962–64), and then was appointed military assistant to Secretary of the Army [[Stephen Ailes]] in 1964. He then was appointed military assistant to Secretary of Defense [[Robert McNamara]], continuing in that service until the end of 1965.<ref name = Weiner />  In 1966, Haig graduated from the [[United States Army War College]].

===Vietnam War===
[[File:General Alexander Haig being presented with the Distinguished Service Medal by President Richard Nixon at the White House.jpg|thumb|Major General Haig being presented with the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]] by President [[Richard Nixon]] in the [[Oval Office]] in 1973]]
In 1966, Haig took command of a [[battalion]] of the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]] during the [[Vietnam War]]. On 22 May 1967, General [[William Westmoreland]] rewarded Haig with the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]], the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]'s second-highest medal for valor, in recognition of his actions during the [[Battle of Ap Gu]] in March 1967.<ref name="aogusma">{{cite web |title=West Point Citation |url=http://www.aogusma.org/aog/awards/DGA/96-Haigl.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516203751/http://www.aogusma.org/aog/awards/DGA/96-Haigl.htm |archive-date=2006-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Relations |first=United States Congress Senate Committee on Foreign |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6GH6yBfAf14C&dq=Alexander+Haig+medal+1967+Battle+of+Ap+Gu&pg=PA11 |title=Nomination of Alexander M. Haig, Jr: Hearings Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of Alexander M. Haig, Jr., to be Secretary of State, January 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 1981 |date=1981 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref>  During the battle, Haig, then a member of the [[26th Infantry Regiment (United States)#Vietnam War|1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment]], became pinned down by a [[Viet Cong]] force that outnumbered U.S. forces by three to one. In an attempt to survey the battlefield, Haig boarded a helicopter and flew to the point of contact. His helicopter was subsequently shot down, leading to two days of bloody hand-to-hand combat. An excerpt from Haig's Distinguished Service Cross citation states:

{{blockquote|When two of his companies were engaged by a large hostile force, Colonel Haig landed amid a hail of fire, personally took charge of the units, called for artillery and air fire support and succeeded in soundly defeating the insurgent force&nbsp;... the next day a barrage of 400 rounds was fired by the Viet Cong, but it was ineffective because of the warning and preparations by Colonel Haig. As the barrage subsided, a force three times larger than his began a series of human wave assaults on the camp. Heedless of the danger himself, Colonel Haig repeatedly braved intense hostile fire to survey the battlefield. His personal courage and determination, and his skillful employment of every defense and support tactic possible, inspired his men to fight with previously unimagined power. Although his force was outnumbered three to one, Colonel Haig succeeded in inflicting 592 casualties on the Viet Cong&nbsp;...

HQ US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 2318 (22 May 1967)<ref name="hoh">{{cite web|url=http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=4574|title=Full Text Citations For Award of The Distinguished Service Cross, US Army Recipients – Vietnam}}</ref>}}

Haig was also awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] and the [[Purple Heart]] during his tour in Vietnam<ref name="aogusma" /> and was eventually promoted to colonel as commander of 2nd Brigade, [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]] in Vietnam.

===Return to West Point===
Following his one-year tour of [[Vietnam]] during the [[Vietnam War]], Haig returned to the United States to become regimental commander of the Third Regiment of the [[Cadet Corps|Corps of Cadets]] at West Point under the newly appointed commandant, Brigadier General [[Bernard W. Rogers]]. Both had previously served together in the 1st Infantry Division, Rogers as assistant division commander and Haig as brigade commander.