Max Cleland — Former U.S. Senator, VA Head And GA Secretary Of State — Dead At 79

ATLANTA — Max Cleland — a Georgia native who survived a hand grenade blast in the Vietnam War to become an advocate for veterans like himself, a state legislator and a U.S. senator. — died Tuesday morning at his home in Atlanta at age 79.

He died of congenital heart failure, according to The Washington Post.

Cleland was known for his unmatched optimism and for being a Democrat willing to work with his Republican counterparts, both under the Gold Dome of the Georgia General Assembly and in the U.S. Senate. He was the youngest administrator of the Veterans Administration, now known during his tenure as the Veterans Affairs Department.

He ran the VA at the request of fellow Georgian President Jimmy Carter.

“Rosalynn and I join thousands of Americans in mourning the loss of our dear friend Max Cleland,” Carter said in a statement. “A true American hero who was no stranger to sacrifice, Max gave of his talents in service as a Georgia state senator, secretary of state, head of the VA, and U.S. senator. We are grateful for his commitment to the citizens of the United States, but also for the personal role he played in our lives. We know his legacy of courage and dedication will serve as inspiration for generations to come.”

Cleland was the youngest VA administrator and the first Vietnam veteran to head the department, Newsweek said.

“His leadership was the essential driving force behind the creation of the modern VA health system, where so many of his fellow heroes have found lifesaving support and renewed purpose of their own thanks in no small part to Max's lasting impact,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Cleland's positive outlook was borne of his recovery from that traumatic explosion in Vietnam in April 1968 that left him a triple amputee. Weighing his options after returning home a year later, Cleland decided to run for Georgia State Senate, he told an interviewer for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.

“And I can remember sitting there in my mother and daddy's living room and saying, ‘Well, no job. No future. No girlfriend. No car. No apartment. No money. This is a great time to run for the state senate,’” Cleland said in the interview.

He won, becoming the youngest state senator when he took office in 1971 at the age of 28, and caught the attention of then-Gov. Jimmy Carter. When Carter later was elected president of the United States, he tapped Cleland to lead the Veterans Administration, citing Cleland’s commitment to the well-being of veterans across the country.

After Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan, Cleland ran for office as Georgia Secretary of State, and served from 1982 to 1996.

In 1996, Cleland defeated Republican Guy Millner to become a U.S. senator for Georgia. But as he defended his seat against Saxby Chambliss in the 2002 election, Cleland was faced with an ad that claimed he hadn’t given sufficient support to the George W. Bush administration’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Chambliss's ads included images of Cleland with images of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain and Osama bin Laden, the primary organizer of the 9/11 attacks.

Sens. John McCain and Chuck Hagel, both Vietnam veterans and Republicans, came to Cleland’s defense.

“I’ve never seen anything like that ad,” McCain told The Washington Post in 2003. “Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to a picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield — it’s worse than disgraceful, it’s reprehensible.”

But the damage was done. Cleland lost his re-election bid.

He told the Washington Post, “It was the second big grenade in my life.”

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Sen. Jon Ossoff, who holds the Senate seat Cleland once held, called the late fellow Democrat a hero.

“Senator Cleland was a hero, a patriot, a public servant, and a friend,” Ossoff said in a statement sent to Patch. “His advice as I entered the Senate and in the early months of my tenure have been invaluable. Georgia and the nation will deeply miss him. Alisha and I are keeping Senator Cleland’s family in our prayers.”

Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson (DeKalb) represents Lithonia where Cleland was born and said Cleland was a “giant.”

“The indefatigable Senator Max Cleland of Lithonia, Georgia, was a giant of a human being who, in overcoming all adversity, showed us how to build a winning life,” Johnson said. “Although our paths did not cross frequently, often when we saw each other Max would grab me and bestow a big hug, and I would hug him right back. Highly accomplished, Max also exuded warmth and positivity and treated all with kindness. I salute Max for a life well-lived, and we will miss him greatly. My prayers go out to his entire family.”

Born Joseph Maxwell Cleland to Joseph and Juanita Cleland on Aug. 24, 1942, Max was the only child of the World War II veteran and his wife, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, he joined the Army during the Vietnam conflict and was awarded for his bravery on April 4, 1968. Four days later as he stepped from a helicopter he picked up a hand grenade he thought he head dropped with the intention of throwing it to a safe distance.

It exploded, taking his right arm and both his legs.

In an interview with Larry King on the 50th anniversary of the explosion, a Marine who witnessed the incident came onto the show to tell Cleland that he had not been the one that dropped the grenade.

Cleland never married and did not have any children.