Max Cleland, Veterans Administration chief under President Jimmy Carter and former U.S. senator from Georgia died at his home in Atlanta today of congestive heart failure. He was 79.
Cleland was a U.S. Army captain in Vietnam when he lost his right arm and two legs while picking up a fallen grenade in 1968.
Credit historynet.com
After returning to Georgia, Cleland won a state Senate seat and then ran the VA under President Carter.
The VA and the wider medical community came to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder as a genuine condition while Cleland was in charge.
He later served 3 terms as Georgia’s Secretary of State and one term as U.S. Senator.
