Joseph Maxwell Cleland (born August 24, 1942) is an American politician from
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
. Cleland, a Democrat, is a former
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
, disabled US Army veteran of the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
, decorated war hero, and a critic of the
Bush AdministrationGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
. From 2003 to 2007, he served on the
Board of DirectorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
of the
Export-Import Bank of the United StatesThe Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government...
, a presidentially appointed position. He is currently the secretary of the
American Battle Monuments CommissionThe American Battle Monuments Commission is a small independent agency of the United States government. Established by Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...
.
Cleland is the last Democrat from Georgia to serve a full term in the United States Senate.
Joseph Maxwell Cleland (born August 24, 1942) is an American politician from
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
. Cleland, a Democrat, is a former
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
, disabled US Army veteran of the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
, decorated war hero, and a critic of the
Bush AdministrationGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
. From 2003 to 2007, he served on the
Board of DirectorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
of the
Export-Import Bank of the United StatesThe Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government...
, a presidentially appointed position. He is currently the secretary of the
American Battle Monuments CommissionThe American Battle Monuments Commission is a small independent agency of the United States government. Established by Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...
.
Cleland is the last Democrat from Georgia to serve a full term in the United States Senate.
Zell MillerZell Bryan Miller is an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975 to 1991, Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as United States Senator from 2000 to 2005....
was appointed and did not seek a full term.
Early life and military service
Cleland was born in
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
on August 24, 1942. He grew up in
LithoniaLithonia is a suburban village in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, and it is incorporated as a "city", curiously the only type of municipality in this state, regardless of whether its population makes it really a city, a town, or a village...
and graduated from
Stetson UniversityStetson University is an private, co-educational, liberal arts university located in DeLand, Florida, USA. Founded in 1883, it is the oldest private institution of higher education in the state of Florida.In 2009, the U.S...
, class of 1964, where he was a member of the
Lambda Chi AlphaLambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's general fraternities in North America, by its own count, having initiated more than 270,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole,...
Fraternity. He went on to receive a Master's degree from
Emory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in the metropolitan area of Atlanta in unincorporated Dekalb County, Georgia. In addition to its three undergraduate divisions, Emory has nine graduate and professional schools, including schools of business, law, medicine, theology, nursing, and...
.
Cleland then served in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
, attaining the rank of Captain. He was awarded the
Silver StarThe Silver Star is the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is also the third highest award given for valor ....
and the
Bronze StarThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. When awarded for bravery, it is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces and the ninth highest military award in the order...
for valorous action in combat, including during the
Battle of Khe SanhThe Battle of Khe Sanh was conducted in northwestern Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam , between 21 January and 8 April 1968 during the Vietnam War...
on April 4, 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 SanhThe Battle of Khe Sanh was conducted in northwestern Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam , between 21 January and 8 April 1968 during the Vietnam War...
.
- 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
A helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter achieves lift with the...
flew him and two soldiers to the treeless top of Hill 471, east of Khe SanhKhe Sanh is the district capital of Hướng Hoá District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located 63 km west of Đông Hà.Khe Sanh Combat Base was a United States Marine Corps outpost in South Vietnam used during the Vietnam War. The airstrip was built in September 1962...
. Cleland knew some of the soldiers camped there from Operation Pegasus. He told the pilot he was going to stay a while and 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 a grenade he believed had popped off his flak jacket
thumb|300px|The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the nylon vest. On the right, the several layers of [[ballistic nylon]] that provide the actual protection...
. It exploded, and the blast slammed him backward, shredding both his legs and one arm.
- David Lloyd was a gung-ho, 19-year-old enlisted Marine
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, son of a Baltimore, MarylandBaltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
ship worker, who went to Vietnam because he "wanted to kill Communists."
- On that day, he was in a mortar
A mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
pit on a hill near Khe Sanh when he heard the explosion. FragmentsFragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
bounced off his flak jacket. He ran to the injured Cleland, saying 'Hold on there, captain, 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 the helicopter with Cleland.
- That unnamed 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."
Due to the severity of his injuries, doctors amputated both of Cleland's legs above the knee and his right forearm. He was 25 years old.
Georgia State Government
Cleland served from 1971 to 1975 in the
Georgia SenateThe Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly .-Composition:According to the state constitution of 1983, this body is to be composed of no more than 56 members elected for two-year terms. Current state law provides for 56 members...
, and became an advocate for affairs relating to veterans. He was the administrator of the
United States Veterans AdministrationThe United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors....
under President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, a fellow Georgian, from 1977 to 1981. He then served 14 years as
Secretary of State of GeorgiaThe secretary of state of the U.S. state of Georgia is an elected official with a wide variety of responsibilities, including supervising elections and maintaining public records.The current Secretary of State is Karen Handel, who succeeded Cathy Cox in 2007....
from 1982 to 1996, working closely with his future Senate colleague,
Zell MillerZell Bryan Miller is an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975 to 1991, Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as United States Senator from 2000 to 2005....
.
According to an interview featurette with
Jon VoightJonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is a controversial American film and television actor. He came to prominence at the end of the 1960s, with a performance as a would-be hustler in 1969's Best Picture winner, Midnight Cowboy, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination...
on the DVD of
Coming HomeComing Home is a 1978 drama film which tells the story of an injured Vietnam War veteran's difficulty in re-entering civilian life after his return from the war. It stars Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Robert Carradine and Robert Ginty.The movie, which was adapted from the...
(1978), Cleland also served during this time as a consultant on the Academy Award-winning drama set in a VA hospital in 1968.
U.S. Senate
Following the retirement of
Sam NunnSamuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...
, Cleland ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and won by just 30,000 votes over Republican
Guy MillnerGuy W. Millner is an American multi-millionaire businessman who ran as a Republican for governor of Georgia in 1994, United States Senator from Georgia in 1996 and Governor of Georgia in 1998, losing all three races....
. A third-party candidate, Libertarian John Cashin, garnered over 80,000 votes.
Cleland was viewed as a moderate in the Senate. Though he supported some Republican budgetary measures, and voted in favor of
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
's 2001 tax-cut package, he was staunchly
pro-choicePro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy. This entails the guarantee of reproductive rights, which includes access to sexual education; access to safe and legal abortion,...
and pro-environment. He voted against drilling in ANWR, and opposed
Gale NortonGale Ann Norton served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush...
's nomination as
Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
in 2001. His record on national defense and homeland security was more centrist. He voted to federalize airport security after 9/11, and supported the war on terror. Cleland was strongly pro-
free tradeFree trade is a type of trade policy that allows traders to act and transact without interference from government. According to the law of comparative advantage the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade of goods and services....
, voting to normalize trade relations with
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
, to make
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
's
NTRThe status of permanent normal trade relations is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation. In the U.S. the name was changed from most favored nation to PNTR in 1998....
status permanent, and to extend free trade to
AndeanThe Andes are the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America...
nations.
Vote for the Iraq War
Cleland was one of the 29 Senate Democrats who backed the authorization to go to war in
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
. 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."
Defeat for re-election
In 2002, Cleland lost his bid for a second Senate term to
RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Saxby ChamblissClarence Saxby Chambliss is the senior United States Senator from Georgia. He is a member of the Republican Party. In the 110th Congress, Chambliss serves as the ranking Republican member of the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, chairing the committee during...
. Supporters blamed a Chambliss TV ad featuring the likenesses of
Osama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and one of the founders of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States and its associations with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against...
and
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, while criticizing Cleland's votes against homeland security measures. The ad, which Cleland supporters claimed questioned the senator's patriotism, was removed after protests from prominent politicians including Republicans like
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and
Chuck HagelCharles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002. On 10 February 2009, he was elected as Chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States, succeeding General James L...
. Chambliss supporters claimed the ad didn't question Cleland's patriotism, but rather his judgment.
Post-Senate career
Cleland was originally appointed to serve on the 9/11 Commission but resigned shortly after, claiming that the
BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
administration was "stonewalling" and blocking the committee's access to key documents and witnesses. During his time away from politics, Cleland taught at
American UniversityAmerican University is a private United Methodist-affiliated research university in Washington, D.C., USA, the main campus of which comes to a corner at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues at Ward Circle, straddling the Spring Valley, Wesley Heights, and American University Park...
.
In 2003, Cleland began working for the
2004 presidential campaign of Massachusetts senator John KerryThe Presidential Campaign of John Kerry, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and the nominee of the Democratic Party challenged Republican incumbent President George W. Bush in the U.S. presidential election on November 2, 2004. Ultimately, Kerry conceded defeat in the race in a telephone call to Bush...
, 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 surrogates, partly as a symbol of the sacrifices made by soldiers for wars. He went to Bush's
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
ranch to deliver a
swift boatSwiftboating is American political jargon that is used as a strong pejorative description of some kind of attack that the speaker considers unfair or untrue—for example, an ad hominem attack or a smear campaign....
ad complaint, but the event failed to have much impact. On July 29, 2004, Cleland introduced Kerry with a speech at the
Democratic National ConventionThe 2004 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter , in Boston, Massachusetts...
.
Cleland's official Senatorial papers are held by the
University of GeorgiaThe University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1785, UGA claims to be the oldest public university in the United States....
's
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and StudiesThe Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies is a department within the University of Georgia Libraries that reports to the University Librarian and serves as a center for research and study of the modern American political system. Established in 1974 through the efforts of the...
. His Veterans Administration papers are held in the
Carter CenterThe Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
. In 2007, Max Cleland donated a large collection of Vietnam and personal political memorabilia to the library of his
alma materAlma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. In modern times it is ordinarily used to refer to the university or college a person attended...
Stetson UniversityStetson University is an private, co-educational, liberal arts university located in DeLand, Florida, USA. Founded in 1883, it is the oldest private institution of higher education in the state of Florida.In 2009, the U.S...
. The Cleland Collection includes more than 500 memorabilia items, more than 4,500 photos, and hundreds of CDs,
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
s, videos, and films.
On May 21, 2009,
President Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
nominated Cleland to serve as the next Secretary of the
American Battle Monuments CommissionThe American Battle Monuments Commission is a small independent agency of the United States government. Established by Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...
.
Works
- "Heart of a Patriot - How I Found The Courage To Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed, and Karl Rove," by Max Cleland, with Ben Raines (Simon and Schuster, 2009) ISBN 978-1-4391-2605-9
- 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
Electoral history
{|class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+
Georgia Senator (Class II): Results 1996–2002
!|Year
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1996
|
| |
| align="right" |1,103,993
| |49%
|
| |
| align="right" |1,073,969
| |48%
|
| |John Gregory Cashin
| |
LibertarianThe Libertarian Party is a United States political party founded on December 11, 1971.In the 30 states where voters can register by party there are over 200,000 voters registered with the Libertarian Party, making it one of the largest of America's alternative political parties...
| align="right" |81,262
| align="right" |4%
|
|-
|2002
|
| |Max Cleland
| align="right" |932,422
| |46%
|
| |
| align="right" |1,071,352
| |53%
|
| |Claude Sandy Thomas
| |
LibertarianThe Libertarian Party is a United States political party founded on December 11, 1971.In the 30 states where voters can register by party there are over 200,000 voters registered with the Libertarian Party, making it one of the largest of America's alternative political parties...
| align="right" |27,830
| align="right" |1%
|
External links