House Passes Bill To Rename Rosemount Bridge After Vietnam Pilot

SAINT PAUL, MN — Dennis Groth was just 21 years old in 1968 when he died in a helicopter crash in the Vietnam jungle. The crash happened moments after the aircraft dropped off a wounded soldier at an area medical facility.

Groth was born on his family's farm in Rosemount in 1947, graduated from Rosemount High School, and was buried in the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery in Rosemount.

Last week — 50 years after Groth's death — the Minnesota House approved a proposal to rename a Rosemount bridge after the fallen Vietnam pilot.

The bill memorializes the bridge on Highway 52 over County Road 42 in Rosemount as Warrant Officer Dennis A. Groth Memorial Bridge.

"I was humbled and honored to carry this bill for the Groth family," Rosemount resident and Rep. Anna Wills, chief author of the bill, said in a statement. "Warrant Officer Groth spent his short life growing up in Rosemount and it is fitting that we honor his sacrifice for our country in his home community."

Groth's family was in attendance for the House floor vote to memorialize the bridge.

The bill now moves to the Minnesota Senate where Sen. Greg Clausen — a Democrat from Apple Valley — is the sponsor.

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