The group Veterans for the Truth is targeting U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a critic of the Iraq war and a de facto spokesman on the subject for the national Democratic Party.
They group is bringing its campaign to “Redeploy John Murtha From Congress” to his back yard.
They plan to hold a national rally in Johnstown in October “to show their outrage at John Murtha over what he is saying about our troops,” state chairman and former Johnstowner Mark Parker said in a release.
Details of the rally will be outlined at a news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday in front of Murtha’s office at 647 Main St.
Murtha, who will not be in his district office Thursday, appears unfazed by the pending campaign.
He is scheduled that day to be in Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County, campaigning for Democrat Chris Carney, who’s running against incumbent Republican Don Sherwood in the 10th District.
In a statement released by his office, Murtha said, “Nobody has done more for the troops than I have.
“This is a policy difference, and everybody has the right to an opinion.”
Murtha is running for re-election against Diana Irey, a Washington County commissioner, who has been critical of Murtha’s comments about the war and what she sees as his lack of support for the troops.
The news conference will be held by Craig Minnick, an Iraq war veteran and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, and Harry Beam, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Vietnam vet, both of Johnstown, and Parker, an Air Force veteran.
A guest at the news conference will be Larry Bailey, president of Veterans for the Truth. Bailey is a retired Navy captain and former commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center.
Murtha, a retired Marine Reserve colonel, in 1974 became the first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress. He’s been known for his strong support of the military and on defense issues, working quietly behind the scenes with Republicans and Democrats alike.
But that changed late last year when – with mounting American casualties – he went public and called on the Bush administration to withdraw troops from Iraq and redeploy them nearby. His comments brought an eruption of emotions, both pro and con.
Bailey, in an interview from North Carolina, said he and other vets didn’t get interested in Murtha’s race until he went public about a Pentagon war crimes investigation.
In May, Murtha said the investigation would show that Marines had killed more than a dozen innocent civilians “in cold blood” Nov. 19 in the town of Haditha.
Bailey said those remarks were highly prejudicial “without any due process.”
“We decided to get back together and put together a new organization to hold John Murtha accountable for what he said,” Bailey said.
Minnick said he and Beam have been discussing for “months and months” Murtha’s stands.
“We’re very tired of lies and distortions from Mr. Murtha on the Iraq war, and it’s time we get the correct information out” about the war, its purposes and the troops, he said.
The main speaker at the October rally is expected to be John O’Neil, a former Navy officer who served during the Vietnam War. O’Neil was part of the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," a group that was an active campaigner against Sen. John Kerry during his failed 2004 presidential bid.
Local News
Veterans' group sets sights on Murtha
- Local News
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Boil-water notice issued in Upper Yoder Township
A boil-water notice has been issued for a portion of Upper Yoder Township as crews work to repair a leak along Route 271. -
No NDIC jobs to stay in city
After years of political clashes and fiscal uncertainty, these are the facts of the National Drug Intelligence Center’s final days:
• 87: The number of employees losing their jobs as NDIC operations wind down this year.
• 57: The number of staffers, aside from those 87, who will be offered jobs in Washington, D.C.
• Zero: The number of NDIC-related jobs that will remain in Johnstown. -
Blogging with heart
I had a couple of interesting interviews over the past 24 hours. The first was with an ambitious Forest Hills High School junior who organized a Red Out across the district today in support of American Heart Association. Like many of those involved in Heart Association benefits, Spencer Ivock was inspired by his own family members' experience with heart disease.
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Forest Hills junior puts his heart into Red Out
Forest Hills junior Spencer Ivock is “redding out” the schools today for his senior project.
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Local pair accused of robbing home twice
A Johnstown couple has been charged with breaking into a Lower Yoder Township home twice in a four-month period – and then selling, for $103, some of the thousands of dollars in goods they alleged swiped.
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Steel firm considers coal mine near Que
Cambria Somerset Authority officials plan to meet this week with representatives of an Ohio-based steel company about a plan that could put a coal mine south of the Quemahoning Reservoir.
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In brief: Somerset motorist dies in crash
A 28-year-old Somerset man was killed Thursday morning when his vehicle left the road, hit a drainage ditch and rolled over.
- Births 02/03/2012
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[VIDEO] Party in Punxsutawney: Groundhog Day is about more than seeing shadows
For the thousands who show up at Gobbler's Knob as early as 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, Groundhog Day is about more than whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow: It's an excuse to party.
The Tribune-Democrat's Justin Dennis spent the night among the masses and captured all of the festivities on film. -
[VIDEO] Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction
More than 18,000 people – some representing states as far away as Arkansas and Oregon – crammed into the outdoor amphitheatre of Gobbler’s Knob on Thursday for the annual weather party known as Groundhog Day.
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