In Excelsis Deo

"In Excelsis Deo"
The West Wing episode
The burial scene, filmed at Arlington National Cemetery
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 10
Directed by	Alex Graves
Written by	Aaron Sorkin Rick Cleveland
Production code	225909
Original air date	December 15, 1999
Guest appearance(s)
Lisa Edelstein as Laurie Rollins Timothy Busfield as Danny Concannon Paul Austin as George Huffnagle Janel Moloney as Donna Moss Tom Quinn as John Noonan Renee Estevez as Nancy Raynor Scheine as Homeless Man Lance Reddick as DC Police Officer
Season 1 episodes
September 22, 1999 – May 17, 2000 "Pilot" "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" "A Proportional Response" "Five Votes Down" "The Crackpots and These Women" "Mr. Willis of Ohio" "The State Dinner" "Enemies" "The Short List" "In Excelsis Deo" "Lord John Marbury" "He Shall, from Time to Time..." "Take out the Trash Day" "Take This Sabbath Day" "Celestial Navigation" "20 Hours in L.A." "The White House Pro-Am" "Six Meetings Before Lunch" "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet" "Mandatory Minimums" "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
List of The West Wing episodes

Lisa Edelstein as Laurie Rollins
Timothy Busfield as Danny Concannon
Paul Austin as George Huffnagle
Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
Tom Quinn as John Noonan
Renee Estevez as Nancy
Raynor Scheine as Homeless Man
Lance Reddick as DC Police Officer

"In Excelsis Deo" is the 10th episode of the first season of The West Wing. It originally aired on NBC December 15, 1999, as the show's Christmas special. Events circle around Toby getting involved in the fate of a dead Korean War veteran, reactions to a severe hate crime, and the ongoing controversy surrounding Leo's past alcohol and prescription drug abuse. Written by Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland and directed by Alex Graves, the episode contains guest appearances by Paul Austin and Raynor Scheine. It also earned Sorkin and Cleveland the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, as well as one for Richard Schiff.

As the episode begins, Toby gets called by the D.C. police to identify a dead homeless man. It turns out the man (a Korean War veteran from the 2/7) was wearing a coat that Toby donated to Goodwill, and Toby had left his business card in it. The event stays with him, and he decides to trace down the man's next of kin. The only relative he can find is a brother, also homeless. Using the influence of the president's office, he arranges a military funeral at Arlington. President Bartlet is informed about Toby’s transgression, but can only muster limited indignation and jocularly asks if the country is still in NATO. To the president's concern that this could create precedent for other veterans to come forward, Toby replies "I can only hope, sir." Mrs Landingham, who has just told Charlie about losing her twin sons in the Vietnam War, joins Toby and the veteran's brother at the funeral.