And I said, 'This is a great time to run for the state Senate.''Ĭleland won a state Senate seat, then lost a run for lieutenant governor. Returning home a triple-amputee, Cleland recalled in a 2002 interview being depressed about his future, but still interested in pursuing a political career: 'I sat in my mother and daddy's living room and took stock in my life. Nothing but a splintered white bone protruded from my shredded elbow,' he wrote in his 1980 memoir, 'Strong at the Broken Places.' He lost his right arm and two legs. 'When my eyes cleared I looked at my right hand. Army captain in Vietnam when, on April 8, 1968, he reached for a grenade he thought had fallen from his belt. Georgia native Max Cleland (August 24, 1942-November 9, 2021), an accomplished college swimmer and basketball player, was a U.S.
The Associated Press contributed to this gallery. | Chris Maddaloni/Roll Call/Getty ImagesĪ look back at the esteemed personalities who left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.īy senior producer David Morgan. Max Cleland, D-Ga., at a 2001 press conference.
