In her latest "column," Ann Coulter states that Max Cleland lost three of his limbs in Vietnam for the following reason:
"Cleland lost three limbs in an accident during a routine noncombat mission where he was about to drink beer with friends. He saw a grenade on the ground and picked it up. He could have done that at Fort Dix. In fact, Cleland could have dropped a grenade on his foot as a National Guardsman –- or what Cleland sneeringly calls "weekend warriors." Luckily for Cleland's political career and current pomposity about Bush, he happened to do it while in Vietnam."
(
http://www.anncoulter.com)
As she provides no attribution to that claim, it strikes me as suspicious. Has Max Cleland made any public statements where he discusses his war injuries and what caused them? I'd be interested in reading it if anyone knows of a URL to an article.
That Coulter brings it up is despicable. Even if it did happen exactly as she described, Cleland saved lives by picking up the grenade. A grenade just lying on the ground isn't going to explode if you pick it up, unless someone had pulled the pin.