Rep. John Murtha (D, PA) passed away this afternoon at the Virginia Hospital Center. Murtha was a former Marine and the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to Congess. He was in his 19th term in Congress and chaired the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
A Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, the 77-year-old Democrat won national fame for standing up against U.S. military involvement in Iraq. But in Congress itself, he also symbolized an old school generation going back to Tip O’Neill and the Democratic heyday of the '70s, when the House was less divided by partisan ideology than by often regional interests.
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“The thing you most remember is he was a stand-up guy,” Rep. George Miller (D-Cal.), who teamed with Murtha on Pelosi’s race to be Democratic whip, told POLITICO. “They were both operational people. He thought she ‘got it,’ both the policies and policy, and was willing to stand up too.”
“He understood the misery of war,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) “Every person who serves in the military has lost an advocate and a good friend today.”
Congressman Artur Davis released the following statement on Murtha's passing:
I am deeply saddened to learn of Congressman Murtha's death. I spent a day with him in Mobile in 2009 and I remember his decency and his encyclopedic knowledge of global politics. I remember most his passion for his country and his reverence for our military. Our fighting men and women lost one of their most committed advocates today.
"Today, with the passing of Jack Murtha, America lost a great patriot. He served our country on the battlefield winning two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star. He served his country in his community winning the hearts of his constituents and served in the Congress winning the respect of his colleagues.
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"Dedicated to God and Country, and devoted to Joyce and their family, Jack Murtha was a giant. All who served with him were honored to call him colleague. I was privileged to call him friend.
"I hope that is a comfort to Joyce; their children, Donna Sue, John and Patrick; and their grandchildren that so many people mourn their loss and are praying for them at this very sad time."
