More War Veterans Heading Into Congress

Democrat Moulton wins Massachusetts' 6th District
WHDH News
Posted: Nov 04, 2014

BOSTON (AP) - Democrat Seth Moulton has won the race for Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District, defeating Republican Richard Tisei.

Moulton stunned the state during the primary when he defeated nine-term incumbent Democratic Rep. John Tierney, the first sitting Massachusetts congressman to lose a primary since 1992.
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Who is Seth Moulton?

Seth W. Moulton, a former Marine and Democratic nominee for Congress in Massachusetts’ Sixth Congressional District, was twice decorated for heroism during battles with Iraqi insurgents in 2003 and 2004. Moulton earned the Bronze Star medal for valor and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation for valor.
The Boston Globe

A humble hero has emerged for cynical voters suffering a bombardment of boastful political ads.

The Boston Globe reported that Seth W. Moulton, a former Marine and Democratic nominee for Congress in Massachusetts’ Sixth Congressional District, was twice decorated for heroism during battles with Iraqi insurgents in 2003 and 2004. Moulton earned the Bronze Star medal for valor and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation for valor.

But he didn’t tell anyone. Not even his parents.

At least not until The Boston Globe got ahold of his military record and began asking questions.

Achievements of such heroism are impossible to overstate. Moulton received The Bronze Star medal for valor for responding to a Mahdi Militia attack on Iraqi security forces. First Lieutenant Moulton and his platoon came under intense mortar, rocket, sniper and machine gun fire at the Najaf main Iraqi police station. He defended this position for six hours, ignoring the exploding mortars and constant sniper fire to lead the Battalion’s assault on the enemy.
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Younger veterans heading to Congress in bigger numbers
Navy Times
By Leo Shane III
Staff writer
Nov. 5, 2014

All 14 Iraq War veterans running for re-election in the House won their bids.

Next year’s Congress will boast the largest class of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans yet, even as the overall number of lawmakers with military experience continues to decline.

At least 22 veterans of the current wars won their races Tuesday, with at least four contests still undecided Wednesday morning. This year’s Congress has 17 veterans of the current wars.

The new class includes six Democrats and at least 16 Republicans. It is headlined by Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton and Iowa Republican Joni Ernst, the first two Iraq War veterans elected to the chamber.

Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., is the only other senator to have served in Iraq, but he was appointed to the seat to fill a vacancy.

Cotton, who had already represented Arkansas in the House, served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and was among the key Republican pickups that will shift control of the Senate to his party next year.

Ernst, the first female Iraq War veteran elected to the Senate, made national headlines with campaign ads last spring in which she boasted of her experience castrating hogs on the family farm. “When I get to Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork,” she quipped.
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