Max Cleland

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Max Cleland
United States Senator from Georgia
In office January 7, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Sam Nunn
Succeeded by	C. Saxby Chambliss
10th Administrator of the United States Veterans Affairs
In office 1977 – 1981
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Richard L. Roudebush
Succeeded by	Robert P. Nimmo
Born	August 24, 1942 (1942-08-24) (age 65) Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Nancy Ross
Religion	Methodist

Joseph Maxwell Cleland (born August 24, 1942) is an American politician from Georgia. Cleland, a Democrat, is a former U.S. Senator, disabled US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, and a critic of the Bush Administration. From 2003 to 2007, he served on the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a presidentially appointed position.^[1][2]

As of 2008 Cleland is the last Democrat from Georgia to serve a full term in the United States Senate. (Zell Miller was appointed and did not seek full term).

[edit] Early life and military service

Cleland was born in Atlanta, Georgia on August 24, 1942. He grew up in Lithonia and later attended Stetson University, where he also joined the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. He went on to receive a Master's degree from Emory University.

Cleland then served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, attaining the rank of Captain. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous action in combat, including during the Battle of Khe Sanh on April 4th, 1968.

On April 8, 1968, Captain Cleland was the Battalion Signal Officer for the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division during the Battle of Khe Sanh.^[3]

On April 8, with a month left in his tour, Cleland was ordered to set up a radio relay station on a nearby hill. A helicopter flew him and two soldiers to the treeless top of Hill 471, east of Khe Sanh. Cleland knew some of the soldiers camped there from Operation Pegasus. He told the pilot he was going to stay a while. Maybe have a few beers with friends.

When the helicopter landed, Cleland jumped out, followed by the two soldiers. They ducked beneath the rotors and turned to watch the liftoff. Cleland reached down to pick up the grenade he believed had popped off his flak jacket. The blast slammed him backward, shredding both his legs and one arm. He was 25 years old...

David Lloyd was a gung-ho, 19-year-old enlisted Marine, son of a Baltimore ship worker, who went to Vietnam because he "wanted to kill Communists."

On April 8, 1968, he was in a mortar pit on a hill near Khe Sanh when he heard an explosion. Shrapnel bounced off his flak jacket. He ran to the injured officer, a man named Max Cleland. 'Hold on there, captain,' Lloyd told Cleland. 'The chopper will be here in a minute.'

Lloyd took off his web belt and tied it around one of Cleland's shredded legs. When the medics arrived, he left to help another injured soldier — one of the two who had gotten off a helicopter with Cleland.

That soldier was crying. 'It was mine,' he said, 'it was my grenade.'

According to Lloyd, the private had failed to take the extra precaution that experienced soldiers did when they grabbed M-26 grenades from the ammo box: bend the pins, or tape them in place, so they couldn't accidentally dislodge. This soldier had a flak jacket full of grenades with treacherously straight pins, Lloyd says. "He was a walking death trap."^[4]

Due to the severity of his injuries, doctors amputated both his legs above the knee and his right forearm.^[5]

[edit] Georgia State Government

Cleland served from 1971 to 1975 in the Georgia Senate, and became an advocate for affairs relating to veterans. He was the administrator of the United States Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter, a fellow Georgian, from 1977 to 1981. He then served 14 years as Secretary of State of Georgia from 1982 to 1996, working closely with his future Senate colleague, Zell Miller.

According to an interview featurette with Jon Voight on the DVD of Coming Home (1978), Cleland also served during this time as a consultant on the Academy Award-winning drama set in a VA hospital in 1968.

[edit] U.S. Senate

Cleland ran for and was elected to the United States Senate in 1996. The Democratic nomination became available because of the retirement of Sam Nunn.

In 2002, Cleland was defeated in his bid for a second Senate term by Representative Saxby Chambliss. Voters were allegedly influenced by Chambliss ads that featured Cleland's likeness on the same screen as Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, ads that Cleland's supporters claim questioned his commitment to homeland security.^[6] The ads were removed after strong bi-partisan protest from prominent politicians including Republicans like John McCain and Chuck Hagel.

[edit] Vote for the Iraq War

Cleland was one of the 29 Senate Democrats who backed the authorization to go to war in Iraq as a last resort. He later stated he had misgivings about the Bush administration's stance, but said he felt pressure in his tight Senate race to go along with it. In 2005, he said "it was obvious that if I voted against the resolution that I would be dead meat in the race, just handing them in a victory." He characterized his vote for war as "the worst vote I cast."^[7]

[edit] Post-Senate career

Cleland was originally appointed to serve on the 9/11 Commission but resigned shortly after, claiming that the Bush administration was "stonewalling" and blocking the committee's access to key documents and witnesses. During his time away from politics, Cleland taught at American University.

In 2003, Cleland began working for the 2004 presidential campaign of Massachusetts senator John Kerry, also a Vietnam veteran; Kerry went on to win the Democratic nomination. Cleland often appeared at campaign events with Kerry, and was considered by many to be one of his most important assistants, partly as a symbol of the sacrifices made by soldiers for wars. He went to Bush's Texas ranch to deliver a swift boat ad complaint, but the event failed to have much impact. On July 29, 2004, Cleland introduced Kerry with a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Cleland is author of the books Strong at the Broken Places and Going for the Max!: 12 Principles for Living Life to the Fullest. He holds a B.A. in English from Stetson University and a Masters degree in American History from Emory University. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from both institutions and is a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

[edit] Works

• Odysseus in America by Jonathan Shay, Max Cleland, John S. McCain (Scribner, November 2002) ISBN 0-7432-1156-1
• Strong at the Broken Places by Max Cleland (Longstreet Press, updated edition, October 2000) ISBN 1-56352-633-6
• Going for the Max!: 12 Principles for Living Life to the Fullest by Max Cleland (Broadman & Holman, September 2000) ISBN 0-8054-2021-5
• Controlled Substances Laws of Georgia: Code Title 16-13 by Max Cleland (State Examining Boards, Georgia State Board of Pharmacy. 1992) ISBN B0006QLGOM

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Biographical Directory of the US Congress
• 9/11 Commission profile.
• Former senator, Vietnam vet promotes Kerry The Daily Cardinal
• video interview
• Entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia

v • d • e Administrators of the Veterans Affairs Hines • Bradley • Gray • Higley • Whittier • Gleason • Driver • Johnson • Roudebush • Cleland • Nimmo • Walters • Turnage • Derwinski

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