An American’s career of service
In this overheated and bitterly partisan election year, a bipartisan honor for a distinguished Georgian didn’t get the attention it probably should have. So here’s a belated acknowledgment of what was probably a belated tribute to an American who continues to serve his country even now.
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga, sponsored in the House, and Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, R-Ga., in the Senate, the Max Cleland Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2016. They were joined in their presentation of the bill by every member of Georgia’s congressional delegation in both parties.
In presenting the award to Cleland, Bishop issued a statement that read in part: “As a leader on behalf of veterans for over four decades, Senator Cleland has overcome immeasurable obstacles to serve his state of Georgia and the nation. His distinguished career is unrivaled, and it is my distinct pleasure to honor Senator Cleland with this award.”
It should be every Georgian’s, and every American’s, distinct pleasure to see the nation officially recognize this extraordinary man.
Joseph Maxwell Cleland joined the ROTC as a student at Stetson University, after which he volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1965 as a second lieutenant and later rose to the rank of captain. He was awarded the Silver Star for valor at the Battle of Khe Sanh in 1968; in 1969, severe combat injuries cost him both legs and his right arm.
The story, as far as service is concerned, might have ended right there, and for most people probably would have.
For Max Cleland, it was just starting. After a year and a half of long, hard, painful recovery and rehab at Walter Reed Army Hospital, he returned to Georgia and in 1970, at age 28, was elected the youngest member of the Georgia Senate, where he wrote and worked for legislation involving the needs of disabled Americans, especially vets.
He was serving as a staffer for the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs when fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976. The next year, Carter tapped the 34-year-old Cleland to be the youngest-ever VA chief, and the first Vietnam vet to hold that post. As VA administrator, Cleland created the “Vet Center” program, which soon expanded into more than 300 regional centers offering veterans and their families help with post-traumatic stress disorder and other war-related emotional and psychological problems.
He was elected Georgia Secretary of State in 1982, and U.S. senator in 1996, where he served one term before being defeated by Saxby Chambliss in 2002.
Even then, his service was far from over. Cleland served briefly on the 9/11 Commission investigating the 2001 terror attacks, and would later be appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery; he serves now as secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
In 1980, Max Cleland wrote a book titled “Strong at the Broken Places.” For more than 50 years of national service, he has worked to inspire the rest of us with that strength.
This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 5:25 PM with the headline "An American’s career of service."