Chip Minemyer
cminemyer@tribdem.com
ARLINGTON, Va. —
For the nearly three decades Bud Shuster served in Congress, he knew he had an ally just over the mountain.
Shuster, a former Republican representative from Bedford County, was among 300 who gathered Wednesday evening to pay tribute to the memory of the late John P. Murtha.
The event – “A Night To Remember and Celebrate” – raised $1.2 million for the John P. Murtha Foundation and the John P. Murtha Center for Public Service, to be developed on the Pitt-Johnstown campus.
Murtha, the powerful Democratic congressman from Johnstown, died in February of complications following surgery.
“He represented the western slopes of the Alleghenies, and I, the eastern slopes,” Shuster said. “And while we represented different parties, we always worked together on what was best for Pennsylvania and America.
“There will never be another Jack Murtha, and I miss him greatly.”
Those sentiments were repeated across a room filled with lawmakers, military officials and business leaders at the Army Navy Country Club, just a few miles from the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.
“We all have special memories of Jack Murtha,” said MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, who served as master of ceremonies for the dinner and program.
Presenters included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Rep. Norm Dicks, who succeeded Murtha as chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; Rep. Mark Critz, elected in May to follow Murtha as representative of the 12th District; and Joyce Murtha, the late congressman’s widow.
“We are here to celebrate the man,” Pelosi said. “He was a force in our lives.”
Several other current members of Congress were in attendance. Among them were Sen. Bob Casey; Rep. Joe Sestak of Delaware County; and Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., chairman of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.
“It’s not surprising that there are so many members of Congress, past and present, here tonight,” Pelosi said. “Anyone who worked with Jack was honored to call him ‘colleague.’ ”
Representing the military were Gen. George Casey Jr., Army chief of staff, and Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps.
Numerous organizations made contributions to the Murtha Foundation. Donations ranged from $5,000 to $250,000 for corporations, and $1,000 for individuals.
CTC Foundation, on behalf of Concurrent Technologies Corp., donated $250,000 to the Murtha Foundation and center efforts.
General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, ManTech International Corp. and Progeny Systems contributed $100,000 each.
Other contributors represented were: Cassidy and Associates, General Electric, Rolls-Royce North America, Boeing, EADS North America, the Frank J. and Sylvia Pasquerilla Foundation, Northrop Grumman, Alenia North America, BAE Systems, Carnival Foundation, DRS Technologies, Heather and Tony Podesta, Johnstown Area Regional Industries, JWF Defense, Nokomis Inc., Pratt and Whitney, Raytheon, SAIC, Textron Inc., AMTV, Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Matt Mazonkey, former Murtha spokesman and now chief of staff for Critz, said: “The room had never held more than 250. We had to rent special tables to fit everyone in.
“Obviously, Mr. Murtha meant a lot to us as staff, but he also meant a lot to his community,” Mazonkey added. “It’s great to see so much support from the business community and from his colleagues in the House and Senate.”
The Murtha Center for Public Service at UPJ is to include a memorial garden and a reference library where the congressman’s collection of papers, speeches, photographs and other memorabilia will be housed.
Jem Spectar, Pitt-Johnstown president, attended the gala.
“We’re very honored to play a role, along with the Murtha Foundation, in sustaining the great legacy of our beloved congressman,” Spectar said. “And we like to point out that the congressman was an alum, and was in fact our first distinguished alum.
“To me, it is a testimony to the congressman’s life.”
Matthews said: “This center will inspire people – and this is so Jack Murtha – to be involved in their community, which Jack certainly was, and to give to their country, as Jack did. And it is so appropriate that it will be located in the town where he lived.”
