U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a democrat who represented nearby Monroeville and Johnstown, died this… U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a democrat who represented nearby Monroeville and Johnstown, died this afternoon.

Murtha, who became Pennsylvania’s longest serving member of Congress Saturday, died at 1:18 p.m. in the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. He was surrounded by his family.

He joined the U.S. House of Representatives in February 1974, and represented the 12th Congressional District. He was the first Vietnam War combat veteran to join U.S. Congress.