Editing Alexander Haig (section)

===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.