Strong at the Broken Places
Atlanta, GA: Longstreet Press, 2000. Later (Second) Edition. First Printing thus. Hardcover. xiv, 194 pages. Illustrations. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Inscribed by the author on the half-title. Joseph Maxwell "Max" Cleland (born August 24, 1942) is an American politician from Georgia. Cleland, a Democrat, is a disabled US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous actions in combat, and a former U.S. Senator. He was also Administrator of Veterans Affairs. From 2003 to 2007 he served on the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a presidentially-appointed position. He has served as Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission since May 2009. Cleland served from 1971 to 1975 in the Georgia Senate, and became an advocate for affairs relating to veterans. He was the administrator of the United States Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter, a fellow Georgian, from 1977 to 1981. 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. The author was a Vietnam era veteran appointed by President Jimmy Carter as Administrator of the Veterans Administration, the youngest person ever to hold the position. This updated edition of Vietnam veteran Max Cleland's inspirational memoir of recovery includes new material about his recent discovery of the man who saved his life in Vietnam more than thirty years ago. On April 8, 1968, Max Cleland’s life changed forever. With only a month left in his tour of duty in Vietnam, he flew on a short hop to a division base and was the last man off the chopper. As he cleared the whirling blades, he spotted a grenade which had accidentally fallen from another soldier’s vest. Unaware that the pin had been pulled, Max reached out to pick it up. The grenade detonated, and the explosion ripped his body apart. The combat medics and 42 pints of blood saved his life, but he suffered the loss of both legs and his right arm. In his book, Heart of a Patriot, Max begins with an open letter to America’s Veterans. He writes: “The physical wounds were the first to heal and the easiest to deal with. The mental and emotional wounds—and a whole suite of spiritual wounds—have been far more difficult to overcome.” After the war, Max overcame, reaching great success in his life of service and politics. He was named administrator of Veterans Affairs in 1977, served as Georgia Secretary of State, and was elected a United States Senator from Georgia in 1996. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: VA Hospitals, Vietnam Veterans, Veterans Administration, Politics, Government, Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy, Jimmy Carter, Cabinet, First Air Cavalry, Jack Lawton, Khe Sanh, Walter Reed Army Hospital
ISBN: 1563526336
[Book #73981]
Price: $55.00