WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall, once the chamber for the House of Representatives and now home to American legends in marble and bronze, was the setting Wednesday for a grand tribute to Rep. John P. Murtha.

Headlined by Vice President Joe Biden and attended by more than 500 people -- including more than 200 members of Congress, according to Capitol police estimates -- the hour-long service focused on Mr. Murtha's profound personal and professional influence on Washington.

Mr. Murtha died Feb. 8 of complications related to gallbladder surgery.

"A lot of people get here by running against this institution," said Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills. "Jack Murtha taught us to respect this institution."

Through the institution, Mr. Murtha, as chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee, had an outsized influence on military affairs. This was reflected in the scores of mourners in military dress Wednesday, including Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Army Secretary John McHugh; Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. and two of the day's speakers: Defense Secretary Robert Gates and national security adviser James Jones.

Mr. Gates praised Mr. Murtha's influence in helping defeat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, a conflict later memorialized as Charlie Wilson's war. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., noted that the unmanned air vehicle program, which is now a vital part of U.S. wars and operations abroad, began with a Murtha earmark.

Military and congressional leaders recalled trips abroad to visit troops, during which Mr. Murtha always had an interest in what the enlisted men and women needed to fight their battles, and how he could provide it through the subcommittee.

Pennsylvania colleagues recalled his mentorship as dean of the delegation and center of the Pennsylvania Corner in the back of the House. Rep. Robert Brady, D-Philadelphia, had placed a folded American flag in Mr. Murtha's seat -- the only reserved seat in the House -- for the past couple of weeks, and he presented it to Mr. Murtha's widow, Joyce, on Wednesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also gave Mrs. Murtha a flag that had flown over the Capitol.

Ms. Pelosi, a close friend whose rise to the speakership was propelled in part by Mr. Murtha, wiped away tears at one point in the service.

"I am quite certain that we will never see his like again," Ms. Pelosi said.

Mr. Biden gave the closing remarks, talking of how he campaigned for Mr. Murtha in his first race in 1974, joking that he wasn't much help. "When I came in he was up by 5 points and he won by 122 votes," he said.

Though Mr. Biden spent his career in the Senate, he said he always admired and respected Mr. Murtha when it came to military affairs. During Mr. Murtha's final months, Mr. Biden had Mr. Murtha over to the vice president's residence and they chatted on the porch, Mr. Biden said, about Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Biden said his hometown of Scranton and Mr. Murtha's native Johnstown shared a similar ethic that showed through in Mr. Murtha's service in the Marines and Congress.

"The ethic of Jack Murtha exemplified here is the stuff that is most admired by the American people," Mr. Biden said, "and the stuff that we sing songs about."

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.