Lawrence Joel

Lawrence Joel
Born	(1928-02-22)February 22, 1928 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 4, 1984(1984-02-04) (aged 55) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1946–1973
Rank	Sergeant first class
Unit	1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry 173rd Airborne Brigade
Battles/wars	Korean War Vietnam War (WIA) Operation Hump
Awards	Medal of Honor Silver Star Purple Heart Presidential Unit Citation

Lawrence Joel (February 22, 1928 – February 4, 1984) was a United States Army soldier who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. While serving in South Vietnam as a medic with the rank of specialist five assigned to 1st Battalion of the 503rd Infantry in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Joel received the Silver Star and the Medal of Honor for his heroism in a battle with the Viet Cong that occurred on November 8, 1965. He was the first medic to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War^[1] and the first living black American to receive this medal since the Spanish–American War in 1898.^{[citation needed]}