[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2] [House] [Pages 1814-1815] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP OF JACK MURTHA The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about principled leadership that makes a difference. That best describes the Dean of the Pennsylvania delegation and its longest serving member, Jack Murtha. Yes, Jack Murtha was a Member's Member. He was a soldier's soldier. Always straight shooting, courageous, willing to defend this institution and all of us that work herein. During my 33 years of service in this body and with Jack Murtha, very few individuals would I turn to for advice and counsel like I would Jack Murtha. Like so many of my colleagues, I have traveled to troubled spots in this world with Jack Murtha. I have read and learned from him not only on these hardworking, hard hitting CODELS, but also from his book, From Vietnam to 9/11. Words of wisdom for all of us here today and for the future. Many of my strongest memories of Jack Murtha are from our congressional travels together. We traveled to Lebanon in the fall of 1982, following the deployment of U.S. forces as peacekeepers to that country. We stayed in the very same Marine barracks that 6 months later were blown to smithereens. During our trip in June of 1987 to Angola, it was Chairman Murtha who was successful in securing the release of a downed U.S. pilot from his Congressional district. Later, in August of that same year, we traveled to the Persian Gulf during the U.S. reflagging operation of Kuwaiti ships. A few years later, in January of '93, we traveled on an inspection trip to Somalia, following President George Herbert Walker Bush's December of 1992 dispatch of [[Page 1815]] our U.S. troops there in order to establish order and ensure the success of our humanitarian relief efforts. The bottom line in all of these travels, of course, as so many of my colleagues can attest, is that around this world our service men and women knew the true character of Jack Murtha. {time} 1845 They knew the backbone of Jack Murtha, a veteran, a dedicated public servant, an individual who was never too busy or never too selfish to take time to regularly visit our military installations, our military hospitals, to visit our brave, wounded service personnel. From Chairman Murtha's station atop our Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, our soldiers knew, they were secure in the knowledge that their sacrifices and their dedications were in the best hands in the United States Congress. I will miss you, Jack. I will miss our true leader. I will miss his courage and his dedication. Our courageous American troops will miss you, Jack Murtha. Our veterans will miss you, and all of America will miss you. Your family, Joyce, and your children and your grandchildren, to them I extend my thoughts and prayers and know that the memories of Jack Murtha will always instill in his family the inspiration, the pride, the strength, and the love that will carry you on to carry on the brave torch of Jack Murtha. God bless you, friend. ____________________