Michael Hagee

Hagee was born in Hampton, Virginia, on December 1, 1944^[4] and raised in Fredericksburg, Texas.^[5] His father, Robert L. Hagee, served as a United States Navy pilot in World War II and, in the summer of 2009, was awarded a plaque at the Admiral Nimitz State Historic Site, now known as the National Museum of the Pacific War (formerly Nimitz Museum) in Fredericksburg, Texas. He and his wife Silke, daughter of the German Air Force brigadier general Werner Boie,^[6] have two children.

He graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering^[7] and was a classmate of Oliver North, Charles Bolden, Jim Webb, and Michael Mullen. He also holds a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College and the United States Naval War College. In 2004, he was honored with the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award.

Hagee was the commander of the Marine Corps at the time of the Haditha massacre, in which more than 20 Iraqi civilians were killed by US Marines. In a later oral history interview with a military historian, Hagee expressed pride in covering up photos from the massacre, stating that "the press never got them", thus distinguishing the event from Abu Ghraib.^[8]

Hagee is the president and CEO of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation.^[9] He has previously sat on the Board of Advisors for Cobam and Silicon Graphics.^[10]

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• List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals