John Murtha

By Mike Faher ad Randy Griffith
CNHI News Service

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, who represented Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District for 36 years, died Monday at Viginia Hospital Center in Arlington.

Murtha, 77, underwent gallbladder surgery at the hospital Jan. 28, and had been experiencing complications the past week.

A Marine combat officer in Vietnam, he was considered one of the most powerful Democratic lawmakers in Washington. His trademark issues were military strength and veterans issues.

But he was also known as a congressman who funneled millions of federal dollars to pet projects in his home district, leading to his characterization as "king of the earmarks."

This influence resulted in ethical concerns about his entanglement in the Abscam corruption investigation three decades ago, and more recently in connection with pork-barrel projects and campaign funding.

In his final formal interview, with The Tribune-Democrat Jan. 27, Murtha said the fall of communism was the highlight of his long political career.

He was seated in his chairman’s spot in the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee conference room for that interview, recalling his storied career in Congress. On Sunday, he became the longest-serving Congressman in Pennsylvania history.

“I sat right here in this room,” Murtha said from behind the ornate conference table.

“Joe McDade (of Scranton) was the ranking member of the committee at the time,” he continued.

“The television was on behind us. He said, ‘Look at this, what’s happening here?’ We turned around and the (Berlin) wall was coming down.’ ”

Murtha volunteered to serve in Vietnam as an officer, where he received two purple hearts for minor injuries related to enemy fire.

His military service provided a background -- first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts -- to seek elected office, and achieve his childhood ambition.

“I always wanted to be in politics,” Murtha said.

Murtha took credit for attracting swing votes to assure support for the United Nations Resolution on the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but he saw the current Iraq war as a “big disappointment.”

Murtha approved the 2003 invasion, then made headlines two years later when he spoke out against the Iraq war.

“I gave them the benefit of the doubt,” Murtha said. “That was a bad mistake.”

Murtha understood he owed much of his success to his ability to listen to people and work behind the scenes with members from both parties.

“These big issues can only be solved bipartisan, because it affects every person in the country,” Murtha said. “My (Defense Appropriations) committee is the perfect example of that. In this room we have 13 people. A majority are Democrats now. Before, the majority were Republicans for 10 years. But we worked together all these years and only a few people have voted against the (appropriations) bill. All this hoopla about partisanship: We passed our latest bill, which was $636 billion, 400 to 30, and we defeated 22 amendments. So it was completely bipartisan.”

While Murtha drew criticism for his war opposition, the strongest followed his announcement that an internal investigation showed about two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, were killed “in cold blood” when Marines opened fire in the village of Haditha following a road bomb explosion.

Many have called on Murtha to apologize, he said he was trying to call attention to the pressures troops were under in Iraq. The incident came at a time in the war when American troops had killed a number of civilians at checkpoints – often by mistake and because of miscommunication, Murtha said.

“What I was doing here was I was looking at the big picture,” Murtha said. “I make comments when I believe it might (bring) change. I felt very strongly because of what was going on.”
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Mike Fahr and Randy Griffith writes for The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown, Pa., Tribune-Democrat. Contact them at mfahr@tribdem.com and rgriffith@tribdem.com.