John Murtha's Legacy: From Vietnam Vet to Pork King

(Feb. 8) – John Murtha, the Democratic representative from Pennsylvania, was a decorated Vietnam War veteran, an influential congressman and a passionate critic of the Iraq war.

As the head of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Murtha was a powerful lawmaker known for his ability to trade favors. And as the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress, his decision to call for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq represented a historic turning point in congressional support for the war.

His campaign against the war was both personal and political. He regularly visited injured veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and called the war a "flawed policy, wrapped in an illusion."

But with his death today at the age of 77, Murtha's legacy will also be encapsulated in one of the many questionable pork projects he left behind: the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, a little-used Pennsylvania airport that benefited from some $200 million of congressional funding, largely thanks to Murtha's earmarks.

The airport – almost as famous as former Sen. Ted Stevens' bridge to nowhere in Alaska – became notorious as a symbol of abuse of the congressional earmark process and helped dub Murtha as one the original "kings of pork." Murtha, for his part, was unapologetic for his role in sending federal money to his Pennsylvania district, which included millions of dollars he steered to local defense firms.

He defended his appropriations even as the FBI investigated PMA Group, a lobbyist firm that benefited from his earmarks. After all, Murtha had survived previous investigations, including a videotaped meeting in 1980 in which he was offered – and turned down – a $50,000 bribe.

For now, fellow lawmakers are reminiscing about the bright side of Murtha's legacy. "His service to our nation in Congress reflected an unyielding commitment to his constituents, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and our nation," said fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak.

"All who served with him were honored to call him colleague," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was close to Murtha. "I was privileged to call him friend."

President Obama also expressed condolences, calling him a "respected voice on issues of national security."

Murtha's death also marks an end to one of the last of the pork kings. Stevens lost his Senate seat in 2008 in a close election after being convicted of accepting illegal gifts, and Curt Weldon, a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania , in 2006 lost to Sestak after news leaked of an FBI investigation into appropriations Weldon directed to clients of his daughter's lobbying firm.

But those cases demonstrated how hard it is to make a criminal case out of pork. Stevens' conviction was eventually overturned and Weldon, after years of investigation, has never been charged. A congressional ethics investigation concluded in December, without finding any wrongdoing on Murtha's part.

Whether in pork or war, Murtha's legacy will also be in his resilience as a lawmaker. On Saturday, just two days before his death, Murtha became Pennsylvania's longest-serving member of Congress.