The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Major General Leo H. Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight: Brigadier General Schweiter distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty while participating in aerial flight in the Republic of Vietnam on 23 November 1967. General Schweiter, serving as Commanding General of the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate), was located at Brigade Fire Base 16 near Dak To when it came under a fierce mortar and recoilless rifle barrage. Acting decisively and with great courage, he ran one hundred fifty meters in the face of exploding enemy rounds to reach his command and control helicopter, disdaining the safety offered by nearby bunkers. Once airborne, he conducted a systematic search for the hostile emplacements until he sighted the characteristic muzzle flashes of the enemy mortar tubes. Despite intense ground fire directed at his ship, General Schweiter ordered his craft on repeated low level passes over the mortar sites, suppressing the enemy’s fire until he could adjust friendly artillery and mortar fire onto the positions which ultimately succeeded in destroying them. His quick, calm actions and exemplary bravery minimized damage and casualties to his unit and resulted in the elimination of strategic enemy emplacements. General Schweiter’s gallant leadership and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate), and the United States Army.
Sponsored by:
Awards Received
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Legion of Merit
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Army Distinguished Service Medal
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Silver Star
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Silver Star
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Army Distinguished Service Medal
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Legion of Merit
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Legion of Merit
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Major GeneralAction Date:
January 13, 1969 – July 29, 1971
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, 20 July 1942, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Legion of Merit to Major General Leo Henry Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States during the period 13 January 1969 to 29 July 1971, while serving as Deputy Commanding General, Headquarters, United States Army Combat Developments Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. In this key position, General Schweiter consistently performed in an exceptionally meritorious manner, demonstrating decisive leadership, initiative, sound judgment, and superb managerial ability. In his total duties he established perfection as a standard for himself and inspired others to strive for a similar standard. General Schweiter’s remarkable service has been unique because of the wide variety of important missions entrusted to him in guiding the command’s efforts in the accomplishment of combat development objectives of national significance. Through his dynamic leadership, extensive experience in military operations, and tenacious devotion to duty, coupled with his professional acumen and sound judgment, he achieved outstanding results in a wide range of responsibilities to include researching and developing future concepts of warfare; along with the outstanding results in a wide range of responsibilities to include researching and developing future concepts of warfare; along with related missions of testing new equipment, developing formal doctrine, and establishing both material and personnel objectives. General Schweiter has consistently combined his broad experience and maturity with innovative ideas, conceptual findings, and projected vision in solving present problems while reaching into the future. Through his professional skill and ability to instill a desire to excel among all who served with him, he materially enhanced the readiness posture of the Army worldwide. His service reflects great credit upon himself, the United States Army Combat Developments Command, and the military service.
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Army Distinguished Service Medal
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Major GeneralRegiment:
173d Airborne Brigade (Separate)Action Date:
August 1967 – December 1968
Department of the Army, General Orders No. 13 (March 6, 1969)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Leo Henry Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States while assigned as Commanding General, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate), and Chief of Staff, Provisional Corps Vietnam and XXIV Corps, during the period August 1967 to December 1968. Under his command, the Brigade engaged in numerous decisive combat operations against the forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. Through General Schweiter’s exemplary leadership these operations invariably ended with the defeat of the enemy. In addition to achieving success in combat, General Schweiter constantly and skillfully directed operations in the fields of civic action and revolutionary development to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. At the time of General Schweiter’s assignment to Provisional Corps, Vietnam (later re-designated XXIV Corps) the headquarters had recently been re-designated and was undergoing a reorganization from Headquarters, MCAV Forward. Despite extreme personal turbulence, under General Schweiter’s masterful direction, the staff continued to function in an extremely well organized and highly effective manner. General Schweiter was instrumental in directing the staff planning for such successful joint service, bi-nation operations as the ultimate defeats of the enemy at Khe Sanh, the defense of Hue City against a second enemy offensive, and the offensive into the A Shau Valley. His outstanding accomplishments and extremely meritorious achievements both as a tactical commander and staff director contributed significantly to the effectiveness of the United States counterinsurgency effort in the Republic of Vietnam and reflects great credit upon himself and the United States Army. [This award supersedes award of the Legion of Merit awarded to General Schweiter for meritorious service during the period August 1967 to March 1968, as announced in General Orders Number 1194, Headquarters, United States Army, Vietnam, dated 18 March 1968.]
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Major GeneralRegiment:
173d Airborne Brigade (Separate)Action Date:
January 30, 1968
Headquarters, I Field Force Vietnam, General Orders No. 254 (March 18, 1968)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star to Major General Leo H. Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for gallantry in action. Brigadier General Schweiter distinguished himself by extraordinary gallantry in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam on 30 January 1968, while serving as Commanding General of the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). At approximately 0400 hours an enemy force, later identified as the 5th Battalion, 95th North Vietnamese Army Infantry Regiment, launched a surprise attack against a United States Army artillery base in the vicinity of Tuy Hoa North. Immediately upon being informed of the attack, General Schweiter went aloft in his command and control aircraft and flew over the area of contact, directing his pilot to fly at a low altitude so that he could make a thorough assessment of the situation. This order was given despite the danger imposed by the heavy volume of enemy fire and the additional danger of flying at low altitudes during a period of darkness. As the situation began to clarify, General Schweiter directed his ship to land at the fire support base and then proceeded forward to the southwest edge of the perimeter to gain a first hand estimate of the situation and effect immediate coordination with all allied commanders involved. Throughout this period, the perimeter was receiving heavy sniper fire and sporadic 82 millimeter mortar rounds. Nevertheless, General Schweiter continued to move about the battle area, frequently exposing himself to savage hostile fire. When elements of the 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry fixed the enemy force in a village to the west of an adjacent airstrip, General Schweiter again moved forward to the battle area to personally confer with his ground commander and assess the current situation. At this time, elements of the 4th Battalion were receiving intense automatic weapons fire from three separate directions and several individuals were wounded in close proximity to the General. However, he continued to survey the battle area without regard for his personal safety. This personal inspection enabled General Schweiter to establish the intensity of the battle and to convince the Phu Yen Province chief of the necessity of emplacing tactical air strikes on the enemy forces entrenched in the village. The wisdom of this analysis was borne out when the use of tactical air strikes destroyed the hostile command group and resulted in numerous North Vietnamese Army troops fleeing into the open rice paddies where they were subjected to intense air and ground fire. General Schweiter’s exemplary display of personal gallantry and heroism was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate) and the United States Army.
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry)Batallion:
2d BattalionRegiment:
32d Infantry RegimentDivision:
7th Infantry DivisionAction Date:
August 21, 1951
Headquarters, 7th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 428 (September 20, 1951)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) Leo Henry Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Headquarters, 2d Battalion, 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, in action near Son yang-ni, Korea, on 21 August 1951. On this date, Company F was assigned the mission of a company-size patrol and Colonel Schweiter volunteered to accompany it. Making contact with the enemy, a heavy firefight ensued with many casualties on each side. Among the first wounded were the company commander and one of the platoon leaders. On receipt of word of the casualties, Colonel Schweiter, with complete disregard for his personal safety, exposed himself to the intense enemy fire to move to the side of the company commander. During the remainder of the battle he continually gave valuable tactical advice and directed the evacuation of the wounded and his presence added greatly to the morale of the fighting men. The gallantry displayed by Colonel Schweiter reflects great credit on himself and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.
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Army Distinguished Service Medal
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Leo Henry Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States during the period March 1969 to May 1972. General Schweiter served consecutively as Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Combat Developments Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and later as Chief of Staff, United States Army Vietnam. In each of these highly important command and staff positions, General Schweiter effectively applied his extensive technical knowledge, professional skill, managerial acumen, and leadership, to make significant and enduring contributions to the accomplishment of military goals. General Schweiter culminated his long and distinguished career as the Chief of Staff, United States Army Vietnam, from September 1971 to May 1972. In this position, General Schweiter distinguished himself by decisive leadership and unfailing loyalty and devotion to duty. His concern for the individual soldier, ready accessibility to subordinate commanders and members of the staff, coupled with his ability to accomplish an extraordinarily heavy workload have all been vital factors in the ability of Headquarters, United States Army Vietnam to accomplish its mission. General Schweiter performed all duties and fulfilled all his responsibilities in such an outstanding manner as to warrant special recognition for his distinguished service to the nation. Major General Schweiter’s professional competence and outstanding achievements are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.
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Legion of Merit
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Brigadier GeneralAction Date:
June 1964 – December 1966
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, 20 July 1942, takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Brigadier General Leo Henry Schweiter (ASN: 0-34334), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States in a series of increasingly important assignments during the period June 1964 to December 1966 in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, Department of the Army. Among his many outstanding contributions were: the development of highly successful mobilization designee program for Special Operations; his inspiring support of the Army’s Psychological Operations Improvement Program which has vastly improved the Army’s PSYOP capability worldwide; and his many contributions to the Taylor Committee which resulted in major changes in the U.S. Government structure at the highest level for dealing with counterinsurgency throughout the world. Through General Schweiter’s personal efforts interagency agreements on PSYOP policies, procedures, plans, doctrine and training have been developed; due to his foresight and untiring efforts there has materialized Army-wide the realization and recognition that stability operations are in fact – as proclaimed by the Chief of Staff – the third principal mission of the Army coequal with general and limited war. General Schweiter’s incisive interest in developing and recommending sound and forward-looking Army procedures, his contributions in the development of coordination of interagency activities. General Schweiter’s distinguished performance of duty throughout this entire period reflects the utmost credit upon himself and the military service.