Joseph Maxwell Cleland (August 24, 1942 – November 9, 2021) was an American politician from Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a disabled U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous actions in combat, as well as a United States senator (1997–2003).
After returning from the Vietnam War having lost three limbs, he entered politics soon after recovering from his injuries. From 1971 to 1975, he served as a Georgia state senator. He also served as Administrator of Veterans Affairs under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 and as Georgia Secretary of State from 1982 to 1996 before being elected to a single term in the United States Senate. After leaving the Senate in 2003, he served on the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States from 2003 to 2007, a presidentially appointed position. From 2009 to 2017, he served as Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Early life and military service
Cleland was born on August 24, 1942, in Atlanta, the son of Juanita Wilda (Kesler) and Joseph Hughie Cleland. He grew up in Lithonia, Georgia, and graduated from Lithonia High School and then from Stetson University in the class of 1964, where he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Cleland was named outstanding senior in high school. 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 4, 1968.
In 1968, Captain Cleland was the Battalion Signal Officer serving with the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division during the Battle of Khe Sanh.
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. When the helicopter landed, Cleland jumped out, followed by the two soldiers. They ducked because of the rotor wash and turned to watch the liftoff. Cleland reached down to pick up a grenade he believed had dropped off his flak jacket. It then exploded, the blast slamming him backward, shredding both his legs and one arm.
David Lloyd, a U.S. Marine in a nearby mortar bunker, rushed to the scene, took off his web belt and tied it around one of Cleland's legs to control bleeding.
Lloyd said the 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 experienced soldiers did when they grabbed M26 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 straight pins. "He was a walking death trap."
Due to the severity of his wounds, doctors amputated both of Cleland's legs above the knee, and his right forearm. He was 25 years old.
Cleland served from 1971 to 1975 in the Georgia State Senate, and became an advocate for affairs relating to veterans. He was the administrator of the United States Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 (Carter himself was Governor of Georgia at the time Cleland was a member of the State Senate). He then served 14 years as Secretary of State of Georgia from 1982 to 1996, working closely with his future Senate colleague, Zell Miller. During this period, Cleland promoted a penny stock law in Georgia which would become the template for national regulations to curb stock manipulation abuses. In the 1992 Democratic presidential primaries, Cleland supported fellow Vietnam veteran Bob Kerrey.
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.
In 1977, Cleland received the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.
United States Senator (1997–2003)
Following the retirement of Sam Nunn, Cleland ran for the United States Senate in 1996 and won by 30,024 votes over Republican Guy Millner.
Cleland was viewed as a moderate in the Senate. Although he supported some Republican budgetary measures, and voted in favor of George W. Bush's 2001 tax-cut package, he was staunchly pro-choice and pro-environment. He voted against drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and opposed Gale Norton's nomination as Secretary of the Interior 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 for free trade, voting to normalize trade relations with Vietnam, to make China's NTR status permanent, and to extend free trade to Andean nations.
Cleland was among 29 Senate Democrats who backed the authorization to go to war in Iraq. 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."
In 2002 Cleland faced Saxby Chambliss for the Georgia Senate seat. Cleland enjoyed a comfortable lead in the polls early in the race but lost much ground in the weeks running up to the election. In May 2002 Chambliss was trailing Cleland by 22 percentage points. Chambliss issued a press release decrying Senator Cleland for "breaking his oath to protect and defend the Constitution," because Cleland had voted for an amendment to the Chemical Weapons Treaty that would allow individuals from "terrorist nations" to be on United Nations weapons inspection teams in Iraq. The vote passed by a majority, 56 to 44. Fifty-five other senators also voted for the amendment, including Bill Frist, the head of the Republican Senate committee, who picked Chambliss to run against Cleland.