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Quick Facts
- NAME: John Murtha
- OCCUPATION: Anti-War Activist, U.S. Representative
- BIRTH DATE: June 17, 1932
- DEATH DATE: February 08, 2010
- EDUCATION: University of Pittsburgh, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New Martinsville, West Virginia
- PLACE OF DEATH: Arlington, Virginia
Best Known For
John Murtha was appointed to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of GOP Rep. John P. Saylor.
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Play NowJohn Murtha. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 01:32, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290.
John Murtha. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"John Murtha." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 01:32 http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290.
"John Murtha," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"John Murtha," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290 (accessed May 21, 2013).
John Murtha [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290.
John Murtha, http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290 (last visited May 21, 2013).
John Murtha. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/john-murtha-541290. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
Profile
Politician. Born June 17, 1932, in New Martinsville, West Virginia. John Patrick Murtha's family had a deep military history; his great-grandfather served in the Civil War and his father and three uncles in World War II. In 1962, Murtha received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He then completed graduate courses at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
In 1966, as the Vietnam war escalated, Murtha volunteered for active duty in the Marines, joining his brothers in the military. Wounded twice, he was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Upon his return to the United States, he entered politics. In 1969, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House. He served in Pennsylvania until 1974, when he was appointed to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of GOP Rep. John P. Saylor.
Murtha served in the House until his death in 2010. During his time in office, Murtha chaired the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. He also became a critic of the Iraq war, calling it unwinable. He pushed the Bush administration to commit more troops and resources.
The congressman died on the afternoon of February 8, 2010, in the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia, after complications from gall bladder surgery.
Murtha and his wife, Joyce, lived in Washinton, D.C. with their three children until his death in 2010.
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