WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A spokesman said Democratic Rep. John P. Murtha died Monday at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va.

Murtha had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. At his bedside was his family.

Murtha, 77, was chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

The 19-term Democrat was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress. He most recently led the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense spending.

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Send Your Condolences To Rep. John Murtha's Family

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Murtha was a representative for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District since 1974. This past Saturday, Murtha became Pennsylvania’s longest serving member of Congress.

Murtha was a retired Marine Corps officer and the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress.

He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending and became an outspoken critic of the Iraq War. In 2005, he called for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops.

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