CHAT TRANSCRIPT Read the transcript of Vietnam veteran and U.S. Sen. Max Cleland's recent live interactive chat to discuss the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.    VIDEO Overview: Cleland's observations as a soldier in Vietnam Windows Media 28K 80K Introduction: At first glance, a South Sea paradise QuickTime Play Windows Media 28K 80K Disturbing conditions at a Danang hospital QuickTime Play Windows Media 28K 80K The threat of attack is constant QuickTime Play Windows Media 28K 80K Highway One: Street Without Joy QuickTime Play Windows Media 28K 80K Final thoughts: Cleland's last days in Vietnam before being wounded QuickTime Play Windows Media 28K 80K    AUDIO A taste of Vietnamese radio QuickTime Play Windows Media 28K 80K

A soldier's diary

30 years before becoming a U.S. senator, Capt. Max Cleland kept an audiovisual journal of his Vietnam tour

(CNN) -- In 1967, Max Cleland signed up to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. In 1968, he lost both legs and his right arm in a grenade explosion.

Between those events, the 25-year-old captain from Lithonia, Georgia, used a camera and tape recorder to create an audiovisual journal of his thoughts and observations of life in Vietnam, which he sent home as letters to his parents.

Cleland went on to become the first Vietnam veteran to head the U.S. Veterans Administration, where he served as administrator from 1977-81 under President Jimmy Carter. In 1996, Georgia voters sent the Democrat to the U.S. Senate to replace the retiring Sam Nunn.

After he returned from Vietnam, Cleland watched his recordings to help him come to terms with the war and his loss. He held on to the tapes and movies, and recently agreed to let two students at his alma mater, Emory University in Atlanta, combine the audio and film portions into a portrait of one soldier's tour of duty in Vietnam.

The result, six video segments including an overview, is at right. Also available is an audio-only segment that contains a sampling of Vietnamese radio taped by Cleland.