As an enlisted soldier, Schweitzer served during the
Korean War but was not sent overseas. From 1 July 1952 to 27 October 1957, he was assigned to the
Illinois Army National Guard before rejoining the Regular Army. During the Vietnam War, Schweitzer was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on 11 December 1966 during the defense of the village of Tam Da. Serving as an aerial observer for the
1st Infantry Division, he killed two
Viet Cong insurgents near a concealed tunnel entrance. His pilot landed their helicopter and Schweitzer investigated the tunnel by himself, disabling four
booby traps, killing two more insurgents, capturing a fifth one and recovering intelligence materials. During his six combat tours in Vietnam, he also received three
Silver Star Medals, a
Distinguished Flying Cross, four
Bronze Star Medals, seven
Purple Hearts, and 21
Air Medals. Schweitzer served as deputy commander of the
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and later served as commanding officer of the regiment in Europe. As a
major general, he served on the
National Security Council staff. At the beginning of the
Reagan administration, he became the NSC's defense group director, the council's top military officer. However, in October 1981, he was relieved of that post following a speech he gave that was "at some degree of variance" with President Reagan's views. In the speech, he spoke of "drift toward war" with the
Soviet Union, something that Reagan and other administration officials said they did not believe. After leaving the NSC, he returned to the Pentagon. His other military honors include the
Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the
Army Distinguished Service Medal, two
Defense Superior Service Medals, two awards of the
Legion of Merit and the
Soldier's Medal. ==Personal==