Donald H. Weihs (September 7, 1922 – January 3, 2016) was an American military officer and Olympic biathlete.

Biography

Weihs was born in Sherman, Texas, the son of Howard F. Weihs and his wife Marie Louise, née Gamblin. His brother Bill served in the army as well. Donald was recruited to the 38th Regimental Combat Team. At the age of 25 years, in the rank of a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

he was leader of the U.S. military patrol team at the demonstration event of the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

, Switzerland. Weihs had no long experience of skiing.Military ski race tests endurance
The Stars and Stripes, January 828, 1948, p. 10. During the competition, after the team completed more than three-fourths of the 21.5-mile course, his ski broke and he tramped the last six miles with the broken ski. The team (Lt Weihs, Sgt Walker, Pvt Henry Dunlap and Pvt Lorentz Eide) placed eighth of eight."Sweden takes Winter Olympics"
''Lodi News-Sentinel'', February 9, 1948.

References

1922 births 2016 deaths American military patrol (sport) runners American male biathletes Olympic biathletes for the United States Military patrol competitors at the 1948 Winter Olympics United States Army officers Sportspeople from Sherman, Texas Sportspeople from Grayson County, Texas Military personnel from Texas {{Skimountaineering-bio-stub