Donald "Doc" William Dann, OAM (12 February 1949 – 31 July 2005) was an Australian Paralympic athlete and table tennis player. He was born in the Tasmanian town of Wynyard. He lost a leg to a

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, where he served in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment from 3 December 1968 to 2 June 1969. He competed in athletics and table tennis at the 1980 Arnhem Paralympics and won a silver medal in the Men's Javelin A4 event at the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Paralympics. He founded the Tasmanian Amputee Sporting Association, was involved with several charity military and civilian organisations, and was involved with local football. He was awarded life membership of the

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban popu ...

sub-branch of the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

in 2002, along with a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

in 2004, due to his strong involvement in the organisation. He died on 31 July 2005, aged 56, in Burnie.

References

External links

Donald Dan – Athletics Australia Results
Paralympic athletes of Australia Paralympic table tennis players of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Amputee category Paralympic competitors Australian amputees Sportsmen from Tasmania Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) 1949 births 2005 deaths Australian male javelin throwers Javelin throwers with limb difference Paralympic javelin throwers {{Australia-tabletennis-bio-stub