John Murtha died from complications of gallbladder surgery.
The antiwar democrat was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress.
The Washington Post reported:
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, a Vietnam veteran who staunchly supported military spending and became a master of pork-barrel politics, died today at Virginia Hospital Center. The 19-term lawmaker died from complications of gallbladder surgery.
Elected to Congress in 1974 from a southwestern Pennsylvania district that has been economically devastated by the decline of America’s coal-mining and steel industries, the gruff and jowly Rep. Murtha was beloved by his constituents for tapping billions of dollars in federal funds to seed new industries there.
The antiwar democrat was famous for his cold-blooded attack on innocent US Marines in Haditha, Iraq.