[3] He grew up in Lithonia, Georgia, and graduated from Stetson University in the class of 1964, where he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

[6] On April 8, with a month left in his tour, Cleland was ordered to set up a radio relay station on a nearby hill.

[5] David Lloyd, a U.S. Marine in a nearby mortar bunker, rushed to the scene, took off his web belt and tied it around one of Cleland's legs to control bleeding.

According to Lloyd, the private had failed to take the extra precaution experienced soldiers did when they grabbed M26 grenades from the ammo box: bend the pins, or tape them in place, so they couldn't accidentally dislodge.

[11] According to an interview featurette with Jon Voight on the DVD of Coming Home (1978), Cleland also served during this time as a consultant on the Academy Award-winning drama set in a VA hospital in 1968.

[13] Following the retirement of Sam Nunn, Cleland ran in the 1996 United States Senate election in Georgia and won by 30,024 votes over Republican Guy Millner.

Though he supported some Republican budgetary measures, and voted in favor of George W. Bush's 2001 tax-cut package, he was staunchly pro-choice and pro-environment.

Cleland enjoyed a comfortable lead in the polls early in the race but lost much ground in the weeks running up to the election.

Some supporters blamed a Chambliss television ad created by consultant Rick Wilson featuring the likenesses of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein while criticizing Cleland's votes against homeland security measures.

[18] This was based on the fact that Cleland had voted against legislation enabling the creation of the Department of Homeland Security on the basis that a provision limiting the rights of unionized labor had been inserted into the bill.

[19][20] The ad was removed after protests from prominent politicians, including Republicans such as John McCain and Chuck Hagel, both of whom were also veterans of the war in Vietnam.

[23] A key figure in the widespread criticism of governmental opacity regarding 9/11, he was quoted as saying in November 2003: "I... cannot look any American in the eye, especially family members of victims, and say the commission had full access.

Cleland often appeared at campaign events with Kerry and was considered by many to be one of his most important surrogates, partly as a symbol of the sacrifices made by soldiers for wars.

[26] Cleland's official Senatorial papers are held by the University of Georgia's Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

In 2007, Max Cleland donated a large collection of Vietnam and personal political memorabilia to the library of his alma mater, Stetson University.