Alexander M Haig Jr

Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who served as the U.S. Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1973 Haig served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, the number two ranking officer in the Army. Haig served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), the ex-officio commander of the all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe. Haig is a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest medal for heroism, as well as the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart. Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 2, 1924, the son of a lawyer and a homemaker. At 22, he was graduated from West Point, ranking 214th of 310 members of the class of 1947. As a young lieutenant, he went to Japan to serve as an aide to Gen. Alonzo Fox, deputy chief of staff to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the supreme allied commander and American viceroy of the Far East. In 1950 he married Patricia Fox, the daughter of his superior, the general. They had three children, Alexander, Brian and Barbara, and eight grandchildren.