Georgia lawmakers move to name Atlanta veterans’ hospital for Max Cleland
Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland (Courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office / FOX 5 Atlanta)
ATLANTA - Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff and Democratic U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams proposed the Atlanta VA Medical Center be named for Max Cleland, the former Georgia senator and veterans administrator who died in November at 79. All three are Democrats. The proposal is being cosponsored by 11 other senators, including two Republicans.
Cleland lost three limbs while serving in the Vietnam War. He led the U.S. Veterans Administration under former President Jimmy Carter.
"As a new Senator for Georgia, I am honored to follow the long and noble legacy paved by Max Cleland in his 50 years of service to Georgians, veterans, and our country," Warnock wrote in a press release. "Georgia and our nation have lost a true giant of public service, a compassionate leader and passionate patriot with a big heart for our veterans and communities. It is a great privilege to bring Republicans and Democrats together to honor a man of Senator Cleland’s magnitude. May his life, legacy, and name live forever in our hearts and in our spirits."
Both Georgia senators and all 14 of the state’s U.S. House members must agree to the move. In addition, a statewide chapter of a veterans’ group must support it.
"Senator Cleland was a hero, a patriot, a public servant, and a friend. In renaming the Atlanta VA Medical Center in his honor, we honor his service and sacrifice by pressing forward to ensure all veterans in Georgia receive the highest-level of care they've rightfully earned," Ossoff wrote.
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.
"Senator Max Cleland spent his entire career serving his fellow soldiers and veterans," Williams wrote. "Senator Cleland exemplified patriotism, inspiring every American. Renaming the Atlanta VA Medical Center after Senator Cleland means his legacy will continue to touch generations of veterans to come. I am proud to join my fellow members of the Georgia Congressional Delegation and Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock in this effort to rename the Atlanta VA Medical Center after one of Georgia's greatest sons and a true American hero."
The VA and the wider medical community recognized post-traumatic stress disorder — what had been previously been dismissed as shell shock — as a genuine condition while Cleland was in charge, and he worked to provide veterans and their families with better care.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.