Hazard Ground

Donat "Dan" Le Blanc lost his right arm while fighting in Vietnam as a Marine aircraft machine gunner. Service was in his blood; his father was a World War II veteran and POW. So when it was his generation's calling to combat service, Le Blanc joined the Marines. He cites the 1957 film, "The DI" with Jack Webb as a major source of inspiration for joining the Corps. But, Le Blanc's time in Vietnam would end not long after he sustained life-threatening injuries when the helicopter he was manning an M60 machine gun on flew into a hot landing zone during an evac mission in September 1966. Although his time in combat would end, his service would not. Le Blanc went on to eventually make a career out of working for the VA, providing valuable first-hand knowledge for the development of prostheses for veterans who had lost limbs in combat. He would also write a book about his life and time in combat, titled "Deckhouse: My Story", leaving a lasting record not just for his children and grandchildren, but also for those