Max Cleland Va Medical Center Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLZEY. 3369, a bill to name the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Max Cleland VA Medical Center.

Joseph Maxwell Cleland was born in 1942 in Atlanta, Georgia. Through his storied career, he always returned to his native State. Immediately after college, Max Cleland received his second lieutenant's commission in the Army. He volunteered for duty in the Vietnam war, serving with the 1st Calvary Division.

In 1968, during the Battle of Khe Sanh, then-Captain Cleland, upon landing on a nearby hill to set up a radio relay station, was gravely injured by an accidental blast of a team member's grenade. He eventually lost both legs and his right arm.

While serving, he earned the Bronze Star for meritorious service and the Silver Star for gallantry in action, in addition to the Purple Heart.

Returning to his home State, Max Cleland continued his service and was elected to the Georgia Senate as the youngest member and then the only Vietnam veteran. He became known as a staunch advocate for increasing public access for handicapped individuals as well as for his fellow veterans.

In 1977, Max Cleland was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to lead the Veterans Administration, the first Vietnam veteran to lead the agency. He was instrumental in transforming the way the Veterans Administration recognized and treated post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of war. After that assignment, he served as the secretary of state for Georgia for 14 years, and then he was elected to the United States Senate representing Georgia.

In this position, and in numerous subsequent assignments, he never forgot his fellow brothers and sisters in arms. He made it his life's work to champion military personnel matters and to honor the fallen at military cemeteries and monuments overseas and veteran cemeteries at home.

In spite of many physical challenges, Max Cleland received numerous honors and awards over the course of his long and distinguished career.

His spirit served as an inspiration, and that same spirit will continue to inspire excellence at the Atlanta VA Medical Center which should proudly bear his name.

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Mr. ELLZEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

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Mr. ELLZEY. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Once again, as we talk about heroism, you can't summarize in 3 minutes the heroism of these men. Max Cleland lost two legs and an arm, and this is a well-deserved honor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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