20 February 2010

Alexander Haig Dead at 85


Alexander Haig, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Secretary of State, died earlier today... he was 85 years old.

Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. (December 2, 1924 – February 20, 2010) was a retired United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

In 1973 he 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, commanding all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe.

Haig, a veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War, was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.

Today, Haig's death came following complications from an infection after being hospitalized in critical condition at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on January 28, 2010.