[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 161 (Monday, November 2, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BILL GROETHE

 Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Rapid City, SD, 
resident Bill Groethe on the occasion of his 86th birthday.
  Bill has dedicated most of his life to preserving and capturing the 
history and heritage of Native Americans and South Dakota through his 
photographs. This means of documentation, which Bill has so aptly and 
skillfully employed, has allowed for the preservation and study of many 
of our region's most significant events.
  Bill's photographic experiences and services extend beyond the 
scenery and history of the South Dakota. During World War II, he served 
his country as a photo reconnaissance technician for the Army Air 
Force.
  Throughout his career, the photographs Bill has taken have not only 
been masterpieces of great artistic achievement but have also 
contributed, in a unique way, to memorializing great events of the past 
and, oftentimes, the people whom these events affected. Examples of 
this include photographs of Gutzon Borglum and his crew during the 
carving of Mount Rushmore, the dedication of the Crazy Horse monument, 
survivors of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, the Rapid City flood of 
1972, and, most notably, 1948 photos of the last nine Native American 
survivors from the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Each of these 
photographs captures a pivotal and monumental event in our history.
  Thanks to the efforts, talents, and generous donations of Bill 
Groethe, generations to come will have the opportunity to look upon and 
more fully appreciate the events of the past.

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