John Murtha

John Patrick Murtha Jr. (; June 17, 1932 – February 8, 2010) was an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democrat, represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 until his death in 2010. He is the longest-serving member of the United States House of Representatives ever elected from Pennsylvania.

A former Marine Corps officer, Murtha was the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of the Pennsylvania House from 1969 to 1974, he narrowly won a special election to Congress in 1974 and was successively reelected every two years until his death. In the first decade of the 21st century, Murtha had been best known for his calls for a withdrawal of American forces in Iraq, as well as questions about his ethics.In 2006, after the Democrats won control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections he made a failed bid to be elected House Majority Leader during the 110th Congress (2007–2009) with the support of the new House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. He lost to Steny Hoyer of Maryland. After House Republicans lost their majority in 2006 Murtha re-assumed his chairmanship of the House Appropriations' Defense Subcommittee. He had previously chaired this subcommittee from 1989 to 1995 and served as its ranking member from 1995 to 2007. Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission

Profile at Vote Smart

Appearances on C-SPAN

Profile at SourceWatch

John Murtha at IMDb

John Murtha at Find a Grave

FBI Records: The Vault - John Murtha (over 1,100 pages)Books by Murtha

Murtha, John (2004). From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security with a New Epilogue on the Iraq War. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-02396-1.Articles

Murray, Shailagh (November 25, 2005). "The About-Face of a Hawkish Democrat". Washington Post, pg. A02.

Miklaszewski, Jim; Viqueira, Mike (May 17, 2006). "Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis 'in cold blood'". NBC News.

Murtha, John John Murtha's Iraq Exit Strategy November 17, 2005.

H. Res. 557, the "War in Iraq Anniversary resolution"

'Unwinnable' comment draws GOP fire (CNN)

Murtha calls for change in U.S. Iraq policy (Associated Press)

FBI files on John Murtha

Rep. Murtha says Rumsfeld, Cheney should resign Archived April 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

Washington Post: Confessions of a "Defeatocrat"

Rep. John Murtha, Iraq War Critic, Dies at 77 – video by Democracy Now!

John Murtha Passes Away (MyJohnstownPA)Collection

John Murtha collection at the University of Pittsburgh