[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 101 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S4150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING HERMAN DILLON, SR.

 Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I wish to honor Mr. Herman 
Dillon, Sr., who passed away on Friday, May 23, 2014. Mr. Dillon, 
Senior was the tribal council chairman of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians 
in my home State of Washington and at the time of his passing had 
dedicated an astounding 35 years to the tribal council.
  Mr. Dillon, Senior served his tribe and his country throughout his 
life. He joined the Navy Reserves at 17, at the tail end of World War 
II. Following 4 years in the Navy Reserves, he was drafted by the Army 
and served for 2 years guarding the port and prisoner of war camps in 
Puson during the Korean war. Of course, his life of service did not end 
there, and he was first elected to the Puyallup Tribal Council in 1971. 
In the time since he was first elected to the tribal council, Mr. 
Dillon, Senior experienced a number of historical changes. He saw his 
fellow tribal members get arrested for exercising their treaty-
protected right to fish in the Puyallup River, and on February 12, 
1974, Judge Boldt of the U.S. District Court for the Western District 
of Washington issued a decision affirming the rights of Washington 
treaty tribes to take up to half of the harvestable fish in Washington 
State fishing waters. Of course, he also served on the tribal council 
as the tribe experienced a time of great economic development and 
diversification of their business interests in an effort to set 
themselves on a path to economic sustainability.
  I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Dillon, Senior throughout my 
time in the Senate. I was always impressed by his leadership, 
integrity, and dedication to the Puyallup people. He was their champion 
on issues from health care to the construction of a new tribal justice 
center. He also led by example, earning his GED when he was 50 years 
old and fostering children in his home. Even into his ninth decade of 
life, Mr. Dillon, Senior continued to advocate for his tribal community 
and was dedicated to solutions that would help his Tribe better 
themselves.
  Washington State and our country lost a great tribal leader in May, 
and I am grateful I had the opportunity to work with Mr. Dillon, Senior 
and advocate on the Puyallup Tribe's behalf in Washington, DC. My 
thoughts are with Darlene Dillon, Mr. Dillon, Senior's, wife of over 40 
years, his 12 children, the children whose lives he changed through 
fostering, his entire extended family, and the Puyallup Tribe of 
Indians. We are all better for having known him and will work to carry 
his legacy forward.

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