III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 451 

Honoring the life and legacy of the late Senator Max Cleland. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2021 

Mr. WARNOCK (for himself, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MCCONNELL, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BRAUN, 

Mr. BROWN, Mr. BURR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. COONS, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. 

CRUZ, Mr. DAINES, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mrs. FISCHER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. HAGERTY, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

HICKENLOOPER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOEVEN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. 

INHOFE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KELLY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEE, Mr. 

LUJA ́N, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MURPHY, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. PAUL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PORTMAN, 

Mr. REED, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROMNEY, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SASSE, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SHELBY, Ms. 

SINEMA, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. 

THUNE, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, Mr. 

WYDEN, and Mr. YOUNG) submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and legacy of the late Senator Max Cleland. 


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•SRES 451 ATS 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland was born August 24, 1942, 

in Atlanta, Georgia, the child of Juanita Kesler Cleland 

and Joseph Hughie Cleland, a World War II veteran, and 

grew up in Lithonia, Georgia; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland graduated from Stetson 

University in Florida in 1964, and received his Master’s 

Degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta, 

Georgia; 

Whereas, following his graduation from Stetson University, 

Joseph Maxwell Cleland received a Second Lieutenant’s 

Commission in the Army through its Reserve Officers’ 

Training Corps program; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland volunteered for duty in the 

Vietnam War in 1967, serving with the 1st Cavalry Division; 

Whereas, on April 8, 1968, during combat at the mountain 

base at Khe Sanh, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was gravely 

injured by the blast of a grenade, eventually losing both 

his legs and right arm; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland was awarded the Bronze 

Star for meritorious service and the Silver Star for gallantry in action; 

Whereas, in 1970, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected to the 

Georgia Senate as the youngest member and the only 

Vietnam veteran, where he served until 1975; 

Whereas, as a Georgia State Senator, Joseph Maxwell 

Cleland authored and advanced legislation to ensure access to public facilities in Georgia for elderly and handicapped individuals; 


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Whereas, in 1976, Joseph Maxwell Cleland began serving as 

a staffer on the United States Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs; 

Whereas, in 1977, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by 

President Jimmy Carter to lead the Veterans Administration; 

Whereas he was the youngest Administrator of the United 

States Veterans Administration ever and the first Vietnam veteran to head the agency; 

Whereas he served as a champion for veterans and led the 

Veterans Administration to recognize, and begin to treat, 

post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans suffering the 

invisible wounds of war; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected in 1982 as 

Georgia’s Secretary of State, the youngest individual to 

hold the office, and served in that position for 14 years; 

Whereas, in 1996, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected to the 

United States Senate representing Georgia; 

Whereas as a member of the Committee on Armed Services, 

Joseph Maxwell Cleland advocated for Georgia’s military 

bases, servicemembers, and veterans, including by championing key personnel issues, playing a critical role in the 

effort to allow servicemembers to pass their GI Bill education benefits to their children, and establishing a new 

veterans cemetery in Canton, Georgia; 

Whereas, in 2002, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed to 

the 9/11 Commission; 

Whereas, in 2003, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by 

President George W. Bush to the Board of Directors for 

the Export-Import Bank of the United States, where he 

served until 2007; 


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•SRES 451 ATS 

Whereas, in 2009, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by 

President Barack Obama as Secretary of the American 

Battle Monuments Commission overseeing United States 

military cemeteries and monuments overseas, where he 

served until 2017; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland authored 3 books: Strong 

at the Broken Places, Going for the Max: 12 Principles 

for Living Life to the Fullest, and Heart of a Patriot; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland received numerous honors 

and awards over the course of his long and distinguished 

career; 

Whereas Joseph Maxwell Cleland was a patriot, veteran, and 

lifelong civil servant who proudly served Georgia, the 

United States, and all veterans and servicemembers of 

the United States; and 

Whereas, on November 9, 2021, at the age of 79, Joseph 

Maxwell Cleland died, leaving behind a legacy of service, 

sacrifice, and joy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate— 

3 (A) has heard with profound sorrow and 

4 deep regret the announcement of the death of 

5 Joseph Maxwell Cleland; 

6 (B) honors the life and legacy of the late 

7 Senator Joseph Maxwell Cleland for his— 

8 (i) courage and sacrifice in combat in 

9 the Vietnam War; 


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1 (ii) unwavering dedication to Georgia 

2 as a State Senator, Secretary of State, and 

3 Senator; and 

4 (iii) honorable service to the United 

5 States and veterans of the United States 

6 through his lifetime of public service and 

7 tenure as Administrator of the Veterans 

8 Administration; 

9 (C) proclaims that Joseph Maxwell 

10 Cleland— 

11 (i) represented the best of Georgia’s 

12 commitment to the United States; and 

13 (ii) served continually for more than 

14 50 years with an unwavering commitment 

15 to public service; and 

16 (D) respectfully requests that the Sec17 retary of the Senate— 

18 (i) communicate this resolution to the 

19 House of Representatives; and 

20 (ii) transmit an enrolled copy of this 

21 resolution to the family of Joseph Maxwell 

22 Cleland; and 


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1 (2) when the Senate adjourns today, it stand 

2 adjourned as a further mark of respect to the mem3 ory of Joseph Maxwell Cleland. 

Æ 


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