Max Cleland, Patriot

I just finished reading Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove, by former United States Senator and Veterans Administration head Max Cleland. In this moving and often heartbreaking book, Cleland chronicles his life's struggles after being left a triple amputee by a grenade explosion in Viet Nam. Over and over again, he picks up the pieces of his life and his psyche, and rises to "stand tall" among his fellow citizens. He gives his life to public service and becomes the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the Georgia State Senate, then serves as head of the Veterans Administration under Jimmy Carter. Eventually he fulfills his dream of becoming a U.S. Senator.

But during the campaign for his reelection, he was singled out by Republicans as being — incredibly — "unpatriotic." The shattering loss brought on his latent Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, Cleland returned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment and, as he says, "cried for two and a half years."

Last year President Obama appointed him Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission, which manages the 24 overseas cemeteries where American soldiers are memorialized. I imagine those soldiers would be proud to know that someone with Max Cleland's courage and depth of character is in charge.