08NOV1965: Serving as a medic with 1-503IN during the Vietnam War, SP6 Lawrence Joel and his fellow paratroopers were in search of Viet Cong fighters when they were ambushed by a sizeable enemy force. Outnumbered 6 to 1, the entire first squad was either killed or seriously wounded early in the engagement. Without regard for his own safety, Joel crawled into the barrage of enemy fire to begin treating his brothers. Moving from one wounded Soldier to the next, Joel was struck in the leg by machine gun fire. He quickly bandaged his leg and got back to work. The fire was so intense that he was forced to lie prone while treating Soldiers, only his arm holding a plasma bag exposed to the deadly onslaught. Struck again in the thigh, Joel continued to crawl forward, treating American Soldiers one by one. Joel assisted at least 13 Soldiers before his medical supplies ran out. When that happened, he made due and used a plastic bag to seal a chest wound, saving the wounded Soldier's life. Resupplied and ignoring directives for his own evacuation, Joel continued to treat his brothers until the 24 hour fight came to a close. As the fighting stopped, Joel was ordered to seek treatment and was loaded on a medical evacuation helicopter. He would survive the war and make it home to his family. For his brave actions that day, SP6 Lawrence Joel would be awarded in 1967 the Medal of Honor, the first living black American Soldier to receive the medal since 1898.

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