Before he left his office a week ago, Secretary of the Navy Don Winter quietly awarded Congressman John Murtha the highest Navy civilian award (the Navy Distinguished Service Award) for his loyalty to members of the Department of the Navy.
As word as gotten out, the veterans have started to react very negatively to the award.
Murtha has yet to apologize for falsely accusing Marines from the 3rd Battallion, 1st Marine unit of murdering Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq. During the 2006 midterm elections, he accused the marines of "cold-blooded murder", even as they were being arraigned on the charges. He found them guilty in the media before the courts-martial commenced.
Two years later, with six of the eight Marines exonerated, the seventh found "not guilty" and the eighth still on trial, he hasn't recanted any of his statements, which were widely seen as a political speech to ensure a Democratic take-over of Congress as the mid-term elections were approaching.
I agree with the veterans. Murtha's actions and refusal to apologize to the innocent Marines for his ill-considered and hurtful statements should disqualify him from being awarded this award.
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