From Ms. Coulter's
second column on Cleland:
It is simply a fact that Max Cleland was not injured by enemy fire in Vietnam. He was not in combat, he was not – as Al Hunt claimed – on a reconnaissance mission, and he was not in the battle of Khe Sanh, as many others have implied. He picked up an American grenade on a routine noncombat mission and the grenade exploded.
Ms. Coulter also quotes a 1997 newspaper account written by Jill Zuckman in a lengthy piece for the
Boston Globe of the incident:
Finally, the battle at Khe Sanh was over. Cleland, 25 years old, and two members of his team were now ordered to set up a radio relay station at the division assembly area, 15 miles away. The three gathered antennas, radios and a generator and made the 15-minute helicopter trip east. After unloading the equipment, Cleland climbed back into the helicopter for the ride back. But at the last minute, he decided to stay and have a beer with some friends. As the helicopter was lifting off, he shouted to the pilot that he was staying behind and jumped several feet to the ground.
Cleland hunched over to avoid the whirring blades and ran. Turning to face the helicopter, he caught sight of a grenade on the ground where the chopper had perched. It must be mine, he thought, moving toward it. He reached for it with his right arm just as it exploded, slamming him back and irreparably altering his plans for a bright, shining future.
In order to deny Cleland's valor in this incident, one must be either completely stupid or completely dishonest. Although I never saw combat, I trained for it, as do all soldiers. What did they tell me about grenades? They told me that they are dangerous; they said that if one tries to pick up a live grenade, one might not be able tell the tale later. Another thing they told me is that if one sees a grenade laying around, one should not assume it isn't live or that it won't explode.
If Captain Cleland were really the coward or fool Ms. Coulter implies, he would have left the grenade on the ground and maybe somebody behind him would lost three limbs or worse. However, it is an officer's duty to protect his men; accordingly, Captain Cleland picked up the grenade.
Even the story that Ms. Coulter uses to denigrate Cleland proves him a brave man.
Ms. Coulter owes Cleland -- and her readers -- an apology.