Virginia, Feb 8 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Rep. John Murtha has died. John Murtha died on Monday at 1:18 pm at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. His family was beside him, when he died in the hospital.

He was in intensive care for sometime. He had a scheduled laparoscopic surgery, in order to remove his gall bladder. Post surgery there were some complications, and then he was in an intensive care unit in a Virginia Hospital.

Rep. John Murtha was hospitalized last year in December, when he was suffering from severe abdominal pains, which were related to his gallbladder problems. He was quite a well-known Pennsylvania Democrat, who leads the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee. He was in his 18th full term in the Congress, and he was looking after with an eagle eye at the defense spending on the House Appropriations Committee.

He was a former Marine Corps officer, and Rep John Murtha made history, when he was the first Vietnam War veteran to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House from 1969 to 1974. And in 1974 he got a scare when he narrowly won the special election, held to choose the successor to the incumbent, who died in office.