John Patrick Murtha, the esteemed and controversial Pennsylvania congressman, died on Feb. 8, 2010, from apparent complications involving a recent gallbladder operation. He was 77 years old.

Murtha, born in West Virginia and raised in Westmoreland County, always aimed to achieve.  As a football player and a student at the Washington & Jefferson College, he saw himself endued to do great things.

This opportunity arrived in 1952 when Murtha opted to enlist for service and fight in the Korean War following a conversation with some of his teammates.  This went awry, however, as he never made it overseas.  Never one to submit, Murtha worked as a drill sergeant.  He excelled in this field, and was awarded with the American Spirit Honor Award, given only to recruits who portray brazen examples of the defined American spirit:  honor, initiative, loyalty, and high commendation between brothers in arms.

After a 1955 withdrawal from service, Murtha remained in the Reserves and ran a small car wash business in Johnstown, PA.  At this time, he attended the University of Pittsburgh and achieved a degree in economics.  Not long after, he was present for graduate courses from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

In 1966, Murtha saw firsthand the fight that he longed to make his own:  Vietnam.  Here, he saw the battle that he had been awaiting, finally given his chance to serve his homeland.  I volunteered for a year's duty in Vietnam, he stated.  I was out in the field almost every single day.

At this point, Murtha became the decorated war Veteran that he is remembered as today.  He served as a battalion staff officer and received a Bronze Star (which was inscribed with a Valor Device--a V shape that indicates that the award was given for bravery), two Purple Hearts, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

After arriving home in 1967, Murtha challenged the Congressman John P. Saylor, and eventually took the mans seat after his death.  Immediately, he was ostracized by fellow Congressmen, who deemed him unworthy of the position.  He soon gained his respect; during every election, he never won an election below fifty-five percent approval. 

Murtha was revered within his district and did everything in his power to aid it--even the notorious Abscam operation, in which Murtha was videotaped bartering with FBI agents masquerading as Saudi immigrants attempting to bribe their way through the system.  Murtha responded with a timid no, though not before optioning the funds, which he claimed could put a lot of miners back into the job.

Controversy and scandal seemed to follow Murtha wherever he went.  He was accused of bringing an egregious sum of earmarks into his district, his opposition to the Iraq war, his bold statements concerning the United States local slaughter in Haditha, Iraq, and many questions dealing with his integrity.  He was also against abortion and private gun use.

After gallbladder troubles in early December, Murtha underwent surgery in late January.  A freak infection festered in his large intestine after laparoscopic surgery--a process that is usually complication free.  After another period of hospitalization, John Murtha died on the afternoon of February 8, 2010, and was buried on the 16^th of that month.  He is survived by his wife, Joyce, his sons, John and Patrick, his daughter, Donna, and three grandchildren.